The Great Disappointment
by La Mariposa -Carp
Summary: After a couple hours of laughing and sobbing – and laughing at the sobbing – Katie placed the stack of letters in front of Jaclyn where she was seated. Jaclyn stopped midchew, recognizing them instantly as the ignored letters from Sirius.
1. Prelude

I never, never wanted this.  
I always wanted to believe,  
But from the start I'd been deceived.  
I never, never wanted this.  
Inside a crumbling effigy,  
So dies all innocence.  
But you promised me.  
_-"The Great Disappointment," AFI_

CHAPTER ONE: Prelude

Lily pointed her wand at the large bookcase, determined to investigate the odd-shaped crack she'd noticed. Harry had given her permission to turn the old house inside out in her search. A thick layer of dust had settled over everything in the twelve years since anyone had entered it, but after her months of searching, much of the dust had been stirred up. In last night's investigations, she had discovered a straight-edged rectangle crack, just big enough to fit a person if they were to crouch down. She quickly hovered the bookshelf away and let it crash down onto the floor, spilling its few volumes over the dirty floor. Lily pulled back her long, black curls into a messy bun to keep them out of her face. She then proceeded to wipe at the grime on the wall until the crack was definitely visible. She pocketed her wand and pulled out a silver pocketknife, inserting it in the crack and prying away the plaster, piece-by-piece until she dug out a hole. It was a grueling task, but as soon as she had a big enough hole to look through and reach her hand through at the same time, she stuck her wand inside and whispered _"Lumos." _ A small cavern-like hole was illuminated. She peered into the dimly lit area and saw on the floor a large, cardboard box. It was unmarked and looked rather boring, but she knew that this was what she had been waiting for her entire life.

When she lifted it out, she carried it to the middle of an old, threadbare rug and lifted off the lid. In the box were piles of old photos waving up at her, mixed in with notebooks and journals, scrolls and spare bits of parchment. On the very top was a thick leather-bound journal. She picked it up and opened to the first page.

"_My name is Jaclyn Alayne Carter. I am engaged to Sirius Marius Black. (Please note, I think his middle name is rather funny.) I am nineteen years old and we are living in dark, dark times. Therefore, I have decided to write down our story, for the future, in case we do not make it. Many have died or gone bad. Sirius thinks I'm being paranoid, but even I see the worry in his eyes. They've been going gray lately, not quite so blue, but occasionally I can make him forget and it sparks back up – __he__ sparks back up into the man I love…"_

Lily scanned through the rest until she reached the last few paragraphs.

_"From here on, I will tell our story, of the early years, of the love and the pain, of everything we went through, and then everything we will go through from here on. I fear, though, that it will not be too good at all. Anyway, I'm making this prelude as long as the journal. I will finish it now and actually write something important."_

Underneath that was scrawled a quickly-jotted entry, dated November 4, 1981.

_"It was Peter. He betrayed Lily and James, now Sirius is in Azkaban, and I'm left eight months pregnant. All because of Peter. Mom and Dad are dead, Jon with them. I have nowhere to go but the States. Before I do that, though, I will hide this journal where no one can find it until it is long over with. I just hope that– Wow, hope is an interesting word right now, isn't it? But it's here. We have it. The Dark Lord is gone and Harry survived. However small, we have hope, and it rests in that little boy. Hopefully, he will bring the world around, clear Sirius, and be his father's child…his mother's child. But I won't be around to know it, I know. Before I leave this journal in its box, I must give it a name, though. And I know just what to name it, too…_

_The Great Disappointment_

_Fitting title, no?"_


	2. Hogwarts Express

Author's Note: Now for the official chapters. Hehe! (I've had TOO MUCH sugar!)

Disclaimer: If _Harry Potter_ were mine, why would I be writing fanfiction about it? Duh!

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**_o_

THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT Chapter Two: Hogwarts Express Part Two 

On their way to their fifth year of Hogwarts, the four girls – Lily Evans, Jessika Rodgers, Jaclyn Carter, and Jaclyn's cousin Jamie Fregien – sat in the compartment at the back of the train, laughing and telling stories of their summers. The four boys sat in the compartment across the aisle, like they had the last three years. The girls had never been able to stop them from getting the compartment, no matter how hard they tried. Even when Lily, who was quite good at Charms, hexed Potter and Black, they didn't give up. So the girls did.

They waited... And waited... And waited...The train rolled on towards Hogwarts.

"Where are they?" Jamie finally asked after about ten minutes of abusing Petunia, Lily's foul-tempered Muggle sister.

Jaclyn looked up from the book she'd been reading, _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_.

"You're right," Jess said, looking through the compartment window, brow furrowed. "The year wouldn't be right without a visit from–"

The door slid open just then and two black-haired boys entered.

"Potter," Jaclyn finished for her, looking at James with disgust as he plopped down next to Lily and put his arm around her shoulders. Black did the same to her.

"Don't forget about me, Carty."

"How could I?" she spat.

"Get off me, Potter!" Lily shouted.

"Kiss me first."

"Off!"

"Kiss me."

"OFF!"

Then he took a kiss, a long one, so forceful that all Lily could do was hit him. Black burst out laughing, nearly falling off the seat. He turned to Jaclyn.

"How about you, Carty?"

She had already whipped out her wand and was holding it at his throat, glaring at him.

"Stay away, Black," she growled. "I mean it."

Sirius moved away, sliding along the seat, and with good reason. Lily was always the one praised for her skills in Charmwork, but Jaclyn was definitely a force to be reckoned with as well. "S-Sorry." He ended up nearly sitting on Jamie, who pushed him off onto the floor. Sirius climbed back up to sit between them, but kept his hands off both girls.

Jaclyn turned her wand on Potter, but a voice at the door stopped her.

"I thought even you would be above filth. But here you are snogging away on a Mudblood. You disgust me, Potter! You're no better, Black. Scared of that one, are you?"

It was Severus Snape. There was a noise like plunger being removed from a sink as James stopped lip-raping Lily.

"_Silencio!"_ Jaclyn shouted and Snape's mouth opened and closed noiselessly. His sallow face turned red with rage. "_Petrificus totalus." _The two boys gaped as Snape keeled over, stiff as a board.

"Get rid of him, you two, if you're good for anything. I can do much worse to you. Go!"

Much to the girls' surprise, they obliged. Jaclyn just hid behind her book again. The other three stared at her in shock. They knew their friend had a temper, but she'd usually put up with Slytherin's crap. Lily wiped the lip-gloss from her chin and took her time applying a fresh coat to her lips before being the first to break the stunned silence.

"You know, if Jaclyn here doesn't do it for me, I'm gonna kill Potter one day." She paused before continuing in a rather lecturing tone. "You know, you shouldn't lose your temper like that to Snape."

"Know what, Jaclyn? You should just kill Snape and get it over with," Jamie told her cousin.

Jaclyn laughed from behind her book, not looking up. "I probably should – unless Rodgers wants me to spare her _boyfriend_." She smirked, but in a non-Slytherin way. Jess jumped, eyes wide with horror.

"Bloody hell, no!" she exclaimed.

They laughed at her. They wasted a good hour talking about how much Jess _loved_ Severus Snape – even though they knew it wasn't true – but stopped abruptly when they door opened again. Jaclyn gripped her wand and the other three reached for theirs. They were surprised to see the head of Remus Lupin slide in. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of four wands pointed at him.

"What do _you_ want, Lupin?" Jamie spat.

"Well, first put your wands down." One-by-one, their wands slowly lowered. "James says he's sorry," he told Lily. "He's always been a bit dumb."

"Duh," Jaclyn said, annoyed.

He turned to her. "Sirius is a jerk, too."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"How about: he's fancied you as long as James has fancied Lily?"

She didn't let her surprise show. James had liked Lily since their first year, according to Lily. Jaclyn didn't meet Sirius until their second year. That meant, unless Remus was lying, he had liked her for a good year before their formal introduction. "Tell him good luck then," she told him, trying to sound sarcastic and indifferent, but not doing a great job of it.

"You're not supposed to know that." He paused for a second. "He's scared of you now, by the way. You shouldn't know that either."

Jaclyn rolled her eyes, looking back down at her book, but she was no longer focusing on it. She was wondering what her three friends would say and do if they found out that the she hadn't hexed Sirius just now when she'd gotten the chance was because she too liked him. She'd liked him since the day she'd met him back in their second year. Remus looked at her for a few moments suspiciously, but then shrugged.

"Anything else, _Remus?"_ Jess said, annoyed.

"Oh yes, Rodgers. I'm _madly_ in love with you." He blew her a kiss, rolled his eyes, and left.

"You know what?" Jamie said. "I think he's the only one of those losers that _doesn't_ like one of us."

"Yeah, Jamie, you get Peter," Lily teased.

"Ew! Bloody hell! That's worse than Snape!"

Lily and Jess laughed, Jaclyn still staring at her book. Suddenly Jess jumped up, pressing her face to the window. She squealed girlishly.

"Hogwarts!"

They all cheered, Jaclyn springing up, throwing her book into her bag, and joining Jess at the window. The castle was slowly but surely coming closer. _Finally..._

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**_o_

Author's Note: This chapter ends so horribly, but the rest get better, I swear. Anyway, if you've read all this, please take the extra few seconds to review it for me. Please? Pretty please? You know you want to! Lol. But anyway

-Carp


	3. Pictures

Author's Note: I suppose I'd better put up this chapter, huh? Then maybe I'll get more reviews. Hehe. Changed Andrea Hashmi to Jessika Rodgers because she wanted me to put her in the story, and she fit the character's sluttiness. Haha, Jess! Lol.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT Chapter Three: Pictures 

Sirius Black and James Potter lay spread out on their beds, silent. Sirius was thinking about a certain blonde, James was thinking about a certain redhead. Remus Lupin, as usual, was hiding behind a book, studying. Peter Pettigrew, a short, fat, mousy-haired boy, was curled up in a tight ball, fast asleep and snoring. As if on cue, Sirius and James sighed together, causing Remus to pick up two textbooks and throw one at each of them. He put the spellbook back up and pretended to be studying again.

"Ow!" they said together. Sirius sat straight up and James fell off the bed. Looking up, they saw Remus awake. "Bloody hell, Moony!" Potter exclaimed.

"Yes, Prongs?" Lupin asked innocently, not looking up.

"What the hell was that for? Nearly killed me and Sirius!" He was rubbing his left shoulder where the book had made impact.

Remus slowly and deliberately put his book down. "Well, basically, you're annoying me."

"What'd we do!" Sirius hissed, trying hard to not wake Peter up. He was clutching his right leg.

Remus imitated their pathetic sigh. "Oh, Lily..." he breathed. James scowled. Remus sighed again. "Oh, Jaclyn..." Sirius heaved the textbook back at him, but he ducked.

James climbed back onto his bed. "You know what I want, Padfoot?" He said, seeming to have already forgotten what had just happened,

"What?" Sirius replied, still slightly annoyed, but getting over it.

"A picture of her... Wipe that perverted grin off your face now, Black! You _know_ what I mean!"

Sirius laughed. "Hey, Wormtail! Wake up!" He chucked a Remembrall at the fat little boy and it bounced off his head, causing him to jump into alertness.

Remus looked alarmed. "No, you can't! You're not allowed in there! I'll–"

"You'll what, oh great Prefect?"

"Shut up, Prongs," Padfoot ordered. "Moony wouldn't tell on us, would you, Moony?" He gave one of his legendary charming smiles, but a challenging, almost bullying, glint was in his eyes.

"I might..." he muttered half-heartedly, relenting.

He seemed satisfied with this. "Don't believe you." He turned to Peter, who was still staring around looking confused. Sirius spoke slowly. "Wormtail, you're gonna hide in one of the girls' mattresses and when they're asleep you st-_borrow_–" Remus had shot him a dangerous look "–a picture of Jaclyn–"

"And Lily!"

"Jaclyn _and_ Lily from their dresser … their trunk … anywhere. Got it?"

Peter nodded fiercely, transformed into a rat, and disappeared under the door. Moony glared at them before opening the door and slamming it on the way out. The other two just shrugged, lay back on the bed again, and continued their daydreams.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Down in the Gryffindor common room, Remus Lupin plopped onto a couch with a huff and found a blonde girl sitting at the other end with a book, reading. His first glance told him it was Jaclyn, but the hair was not curly and she had pretty green eyes. He scanned the title of her book: 100,000 Pranks, Jokes, and Other Mischievous Acts for the Average Witch or Wizard. He grinned. James would love it. Sirius too. Who was she?

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A rat slipped quietly under the door into Girls Dorm 5Gb ((A/N: Don't ask. It just makes things easier for me. Stands for 5th-year Gryffindor b)). He scurried to the mattress and stayed there, remaining unnoticed as he listened.

Jessika pulled out a picture of an old wizard. He had black hair and brown eyes and looked much like her. Jamie sat on the bed, sharing pictures with her.

"This is my granpi," Jessika said. "We went to visit him over the summer."

Jamie pulled out a picture of her own and passed it to her. Jessika laughed and pointed to something in the picture.

"That's Mikey," Jamie began of the little boy Jessika was pointing at. "He didn't know to turn around... Or to pull up his pants."

"Cute butt." The two howled with laughter.

Jaclyn was sharing pictures taken with a Muggle camera with Lily, the only other one who could understand them. They'd given up on the other two who both insisted that "_moving_ pictures make _so_ much more sense."

"Here's one of Petunia falling into the lake in her clothing," Lily was saying. She snickered almost cruelly. She'd been the one to push her, which Jaclyn knew without Lily telling her.

"Show me!" Jaclyn demanded, stretched out on Lily's bed next to her feet, in no position to observe the hilarity that was a soaking wet Petunia.

"Come closer then. I'm not moving. … Ow! Not on my legs!"

"You're right, it is funny!" She wiggled her butt so that she was settled more firmly on Lily's legs.

"Get off!" She shoved her back onto the bed.

"Hey! Here's one of you!" Jaclyn exclaimed, pulling one out of the pile. "_Loving_ the swimsuit!" she teased.

"Lemme see!" She snatched it from Jaclyn, her face falling when she saw it. "Oh! It's horrible!"

"No it's not! That's a great picture!"

"You know," Jessika began slowly, coming over and examining it, "it _is_ pretty horrible. It doesn't even _move_!"

"Jessika! We've been over this a thousand times! Muggle pictures _don't_ _move_!" Lily gave an exasperated sigh. "Forget it..." She pulled another picture out. It was a moving picture of Jaclyn playing with her dog. "Look what I found! Jamie, I think you took this and gave it to me for blackmailing her. It's a great picture though. Too bad." She compared it with the picture of herself. "You take a much better picture than I do," she finally said. She set both on her nightstand.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Lupin had been watching the new blonde girl for a while now and she finally looked up, an annoyed look on her face.

"What? Why are you staring at me?"

"What dorm are you in?"

"What?"

"Who are you? What dorm will you be residing in for the duration of this–"

"Shut up, I understand the _question_. I'm just wondering why a boy would want my dorm number."

"I couldn't get in if I tried, you know. They don't let human males up there." He shook his head quickly to indicate dropping that issue. "Anyway, there's a, er, rat in one of them."

She raised her eyebrows, but answered him anyway. "5Gb... What do I do?"

"Say, 'Wormtail get out, Moony is waiting.' He's hiding under one of the mattresses."

"Wormtail? Moony? What?"

"Just do it. Please?"

She rolled her eyes, closed the book, and ran up the staircase. Moony waited.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Katie knocked before stepping into her room. The four girls stopped their talking and laughing and looked her over critically. She had silver-framed glasses, her robes were slung carelessly over her shoulder, and a shirttail was untucked and protruding from underneath her grey uniform sweatervest.

"Who are _you?"_ Jessika demanded of her, looking her up and down with a critical and slightly disproving eye.

"Katie Bly." She sighed. "Wormtail, get out. Moony is waiting," she said, quickly and almost boredly.

They raised their eyebrows but a second later their skepticism vanished as a rat shot from under Lily's bed, onto the nightstand, and to where the pictures were. Jamie shrieked as it grabbed the two photos and disappeared under the door.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

In the common room, Remus caught Wormtail with a quick Summoning Charm.

"You, idiot," he muttered to him, climbing the stairs to their dorm.

Padfoot and Prongs cheered upon seeing the pictures in the rat's mouth. Moony threw Wormtail onto their bed and Sirius and James grabbed the pictures as Peter transformed back.

"Good job, Wormtail, my boy!" Sirius cried, clapping him on the back. Peter blushed, grinning.

James wasn't as ecstatic. He was staring hard at Lily "Wait... This doesn't move..."

Peter seemed to sink in embarrassment. "It's – It's a Muggle picture..."

James and Sirius watched it for a minute. "Cool..." James breathed, turning Lily's picture to look at it at different angles. Sirius nodded. Peter beamed. He'd done well. Remus read the spell book as if his life depended on it and refused to look at or talk to the other three for the rest of the night.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A/N: Yay! Another chapter up! Yippee! And three new reviews! -is happy, even though she's exhausted- Man, I need to PEE!!!

shadowed ambience- lol. My chapters aren't exactly long either. I have descriptions and intros and stuff, this just makes it easier for readers – and me, haha – to keep track. Thanks!

Prue Elizabeth Hutton- You're welcome! XD (big grin)

this-love-is-sirius- thanks! Yes, I shall check out your stories indeed!

-Chatt


	4. Classes

Author's Note: Boring title, I KNOW. But what else could I call it? No clue? Me neither. Lol. Love ya'll!

Disclaimer: I dunno if this counts, but the "Walkie-Talkie Papers" are my idea.

---

THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT Chapter Four: Classes 

James Potter and Sirius Black had somehow managed to get most of their classes together. Lupin was working hard through Arithmancy as they slept through History of Magic. Peter was their tool for passing. He took notes and they copied them later. He never complained, though, as long as he could please the two of them. That's what annoyed Remus the most. Actually, the fact that Sirius and James had the highest grades in all of their classes was what annoyed Remus the most.

James was asleep during class one day and Sirius didn't want to disturb Peter's notetaking. Other than poking James awake with his wand when he began snoring, he had nothing to do.

Half asleep himself, Sirius scanned the many seats in the room and found Jaclyn sitting three seats away, lazily marking on a piece of parchment. Lily and Jessika were fast asleep in the two desks between them. He muttered something, tapped his blank piece of parchment with his wand, and then pointed the rod over the sleeping heads of others at hers. It glowed for a second and he saw her jump. On his piece of paper doodles appeared. There were some pretty random things, such as Snitches and hearts, but he noticed **SB** printed in one corner. He raised his eyebrows.

_Hello, Miss Carter,_ he wrote on his paper. He saw her jump again before shakily putting quill to paper again. Slowly, hesitant words formed on his paper.

Hello. Who is this? she wrote. 

_Doesn't matter. What does "SB" mean?_ He saw her furiously scratch it out on her paper and watched as it was crossed out on his as well.

_Nothing._

_Don't believe you. Tell me._

_Leave me alone, whoever you are. _He watched as she set her quill down and looked at Professor Binns, but he noticed one of her eyes continuing to watch the two-way parchment.

_Sorry_, he wrote. When he didn't get an answer he wrote, **_SORRY JACLYN_**, tracing it a few times to make it bold. He saw her sigh and pick up her quill again.

Who are you anyway? 

_One of the few people awake in this room. This class is so boring even the teacher's dead. _When she laughed softly, he grinned as well. _Padfoot,_ he thought, _you rock._ Then again, he could make pretty much any girl laugh.

_Which one are you? _she pressed.

_You're not gonna give up, are you?_

_Nope._

What's "SB" then? 

_Fine, you don't have to tell me._

_Good._

_I know anyway._

_Who am I then? _

_Not telling._

_You don't know._

_Yeah I do! _

_Prove it._

_She hesitated. No._

_Ha!_

_Shut up! _

_Make me._ She glanced around the room but seemingly couldn't tell who it was. _HA!!! You can't. You don't know who I am._

He saw her stop herself from laughing again. _Why are you "talking" to me?_

_Because I can. You can't get rid of me._

_I could ignore you._

_But that would be mean. You're not mean, are you?_

_I could be. Are you stalking me? _

_I could be. Would you go to next month's ball with me, if I told you who I was?_

_I would, Black, but Lily would kill me, and I don't need a friend to go to Azkaban._

He forgot he was supposed to be undercover, and even forgot to wonder how she knew it was he. He turned his head towards her and she met his eyes. Jaclyn gave him a sympathetic smile.

_They wouldn't have to know_, he wrote.

_Black, "Lily Evans and her friends" are popular, in case you haven't noticed. I'm always surrounded by them. Sorry, Sirius. Besides, you're usually a stuck-up jerk._ She put her quill down and ignored anything else he wrote all period.

---

Jamie and Katie were "absorbed" in Muggle Studies. The class was rather easy for Katie as she was half-Muggle and had lived like one until her mother had remarried to a wizard when she was ten, but Jamie was fascinated by it all and didn't want to be alone in any class. Plus, Katie thought it would be interesting to hear it from a wizarding point of view, so she went along with Jamie. So far, she'd learned nothing, but had been thoroughly amused by the depiction of Muggles by Professor Finch. Today they were copying diagrams and notes. Actually, Katie, having been out late the previous night, was sleeping. Jamie was copying notes. As Professor Finch droned on, a sudden snore was heard from Katie's hunched over form. He snapped his old eyes to her and made a loud CRACK with his wand. She jumped awake and looked around in sleepy shock.

"Miss Bly! Ten points from Gryffindor! And if I catch you again–"

"Then don't catch me," she challenged boldly. Jamie sucked in her breath.

Professor Finch's face contorted with rage. "Make it thirty! And Mr. Filch will see you in detention in four weeks!"

"That's a month right?" she asked innocently.

The professor's face went from red to purple. "YES!" he roared, spinning around and running the slides faster than anyone could copy them.

"Just checking." Katie lowered her head and fell asleep again. Jamie sighed, combing her hair back with her fingers. Her friend would never learn.

---

Sirius Black stormed into the common room, an amused James Potter behind him. He kicked someone's bucket across the room and a group of fourth-year girls turned to stare at him. Even in a rage he was handsome. He slammed himself into a couch next to Remus. James disappeared up the stairs to get ready for Quidditch practice. Remus looked out at Sirius, stood up, and disappeared out the portrait hole. He hadn't talked much to James and Sirius in the entire month and a half since they sent Peter after the pictures. Katie Bly took his place, behind a book. But her eyes did not flit across the page and he knew she wasn't really reading. They sat there a few minutes in silence.

"What's wrong, Black?" she finally asked.

"Filch gave me detention. Supposedly, I was 'too loud' in the hallways."

She laughed. "See you there." He raised his eyebrows imploringly. "I was a smart-asse in Muggle Studies."

It was his turn to laugh. "And your dearest friend Carty," he added, "won't go out with me."

"You asked her to the dance and she said 'you're usually a stuck-up jerk.' She told me. I hate being in the middle of the two groups."

"I'm only like that around James!"

"You're _always_ around James," Katie said pointedly, putting her book down.

He sighed, then glanced around for an excuse to change the subject. His eyes landed on her book. "Lemme see that," he said, holding his hand out.

She placed it in his hands and he chuckled at its title. "My Bible," she breathed solemnly.

" '100,000 Pranks, Jokes, and Other Mischievous Acts for the Average Witch or Wizard.' I need this."

"You can borrow my other Bible. Pranks for Pranksters and How to Not Get Caught." She placed her hand on her heart as she recited the title.

He laughed. "I think I have that one," he said, a grin on his face. He hesitated before continuing. "I have the ultimate tool for not getting caught," he muttered, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "James would kill me if he knew I showed you, so I'll do it in detention, assuming he doesn't get it too."

"He probably will," Katie yawned, stretching out and then curling into a ball on the couch. She conjured a blanket, pulled it around her, stared sleepily into the fire, and slowly dozed off, not noticing when Sirius went up to his dorm room.

---

A/N: That took too long to edit from the old version, you know that? Please, people! R&R! If you already have, do it again!

this-love-is-sirius- Haha. Maybe, maybe. Thanks for reviewing again. I love seeing people reviewing over and over. Means I have regular "fans," you know? Makes it worth writing cause it means people are waiting for more.

L-Potter- Hmm… One wants Katie, one wants Jessika. Only I know who will win the werewolf's heart. Hehe. Thanks for reviewing!

-Carp


	5. Maps and Moons

Author's Note: This one is going to be extremely tedious to edit, I know it. Ugh. See, it was really crappily done last time I did it, and you'll know what I mean if you look at chapter five on the old version of TGD, since I still have it up until I get all the old ones copied and pasted into Word.

Disclaimer: I invented the tunnel and password in the bathroom. Wait, that sounds weird. I don't mean that that I was in the bathroom when I invented them. lol. I meant I invented the tunnel that leads away from the girl's bathroom they serve their detention in, and I invented the password to open it. Does that sound better?

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT  
**_Chapter Five: Maps and Moons _

A month passed faster than neither Katie nor Sirius could have imagined. They met each other in the common room and went down together, Sirius to Filch's office, Katie to Finch's. Sirius was to oil all the suits of armor on the third and fourth corridors, and Finch instructed Katie to clean out all the girls' bathrooms the Muggle way so she could "better appreciate how lucky she was." After and hour or two, Sirius snuck away from his own job and met her in one of the girls' lavatories. He leaned against the doorframe with a haughty look on his face, staring down at her. She was scrubbing hard on the grout with a sudsy brush; her hair had been pulled up in a loose bun before, but now tendrils hung around her face, having fallen out; her robes were sopping from the knees down and there were sweat stains.

"So _this_ is what this place looks like. I _knew_ James was lying!"

"If you're going to be in here, grab a brush and help scrub these floors, Black," she growled at him, shooting him a death glare. He grinned and it was ten minutes of silent work cleaning the floor before Katie's head shot up, a startled look on her face. "Why was Potter in the girl's bathroom?"

Sirius laughed. "That's too long of a story. It involves a Hufflepuff girl and a pretty weak Love Potion. Just enough for her to cling to him and shove her tongue into his mouth." She raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his face.

"You know, if Filch or Finch discover you not doing your job, we're both going to get in a lot of trouble."

"I'm not scared." Her brow furrowed when he rose to his feet, pulled out a blank piece of parchment, and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he announced to it, and she snorted with laughter.

"What are you doing?" she asked, but didn't receive an answer. "What is that?" She stood up, dripping, to look.

"This?" he asked, pointing at the piece of parchment. "Oh, this is the Marauder's Map."

"The what?"

"The Marauder's Map."

She looked at the piece of paper. There were lines on it and hundreds of dots moved along, labeled with people's names above them. She saw Sirius and her self labeled. "Wow... Is this...?"

"It's my Bible," he said. "A map of Hogwarts. Tap it and say 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good' to open it. Tap it again and say 'Mischief managed' to clear it."

She looked at her dot and touched it gingerly, as if afraid it would all disappear. "_Cool…_" she breathed.

"Filch is coming," he said tersely. They saw two dots, labeled "Argus Filch" and "Mrs. Norris," heading toward them. Sirius ducked into a stall. Filch limped in, his face furious, his horrid cat at his heels. Katie was scrubbing the floors again and pretended to be surprised at his interruption.

"Where is he! Where is Black! Where are you hiding him?" Filch yanked her up onto her feet and put his ugly face so close to hers that she could smell his foul breath. He'd had roast beef and custard pies at dinner.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, looking offended and drawing away from him. "Isn't he serving detention with Professor Finch?"

"'_Serving detention with…'_ You _would_ say that, wouldn't you, Miss Bly?" He began walking up and down the bathroom, kicking the door to each stall open with a BANG. Sirius was in none of them, a fact that stunned Katie as well as baffled Filch. "I know you're up to something," Filch growled, wagging a long finger in her face. "You kids are always up to something…" He left, mumbling incoherently under his breath. Mrs. Norris stared into the stall that Katie could have sworn Sirius had ducked into before seeming to admit that he really must not be in there and leaving after her master.

As soon as she presumed it safe, she got up and peered around his stall. "Sirius? _Sirius?_ SIRIUS!" She got no answer and stepped back out of the stall – just in time for a two-foot diameter hole to appear in the floor. Sirius climbed out of it, still clutching the map in one hand and his wand in the other.

"Bloody hell, Sirius!" Katie gasped, for she had jumped back in fright and landed in the bucket of soapy water. Sirius burst out laughing, clutching his sides. She was stuck. "Sirius Black! Help me out of here! It's you who got me into this mess!" He was bent completely over now in his laughter. She sent him another of her famous death glares. "Help me out or I'll turn you over to Filch!" He sobered slightly, but was still snickering randomly.

"How?" he gasped. "You can't even get out of the bu-u-cket!" This last word was broken for he had begun laughing again.

She somehow managed to kick him hard in the knee, which got his attention enough that he took her hand and pulled her out. She landed against him, her well-endowed chest against his muscled one and faces only inches apart. His dark blue eyes gazed down into her green ones for a moment before they both turned away, obviously embarrassed. "So, er, where did you go?" Katie asked.

He looked relieved at the subject. "The little tunnel leads down a winding corridor. It opens into the Forest, I think." He shrugged nonchalantly. It didn't matter to him where it lead, as long as he escaped from Filch and Mrs. Norris. "Uh, Katie? You okay?"

Katie had paled considerably at the word "forest." She let a frightened squeak when he said her name. "The-The Forest? B-But there are w-werewolves in there!"

"What? No there's not! That's a load of rubbish, Bly! Who told you that?"

"When I was a second year…that sixth year, Br-Brianna Lervig told me! She told me she saw them!" She was trembling violently.

Sirius's brow furrowed with worry. "Katie-Kit," he began, using the nickname Lily and the girls called her by, "listen, I can honestly swear to you that there are no werewolves in that forest."

"How?" She gasped as a sudden realization hit her. "You! You're a werewolf!"

His eyes widened to a full circle. "No!"

"Y-Yes, you are! That's how you know!"

"No, Kit, I'm NOT a werewolf! If I were, I would have missed a bunch of class, and I'd get haggard around the full moon." He grabbed her face and forced her to look him in the eyes. "I'm not a werewolf."

She seemed doubtful at first, but then fell against him so that her sopping robes began to soak into his. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Sirius… I just…my dad was violently attacked by a werewolf when I was seven. I watched him die in St. Mungo's. They're…They scare me."

He held her for a few minutes before pulling away. "Let's get you back to the Tower. You're going to get sick if we don't dry you off."

She nodded her assent.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Ever since then, Katie had begun badgering Sirius to find out how he knew the forest was clear of werewolves. It intrigued her very much. She didn't let a minute of alone time with dear old Padfoot – as he'd started calling him – go wasted. She had detention with him a few more times, but he didn't bring out the map or mention the Forest again, no matter how much she begged.

They were back in the common and Sirius was working on his Charms homework. Well, actually, he'd finished that and was "practicing the Color-Change Charm" on a group of unfortunate first years. He was stretched out lazily on the couch, taking up the entire thing. He gave a soft "Oomph" when Katie's bottom planted itself on his stomach.

"Off me, Bly," he commanded, trying and failing to push her off.

"Make me."

"I'm scared to." He grinned.

"Good." She grinned back and settled herself more firmly on his stomach. She opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by James, Peter, and Remus.

"So, Bly, is Padfoot comfortable?" James asked, a lop-sided grin on his face.

"No, Padfoot isn't," Sirius huffed as James and Remus sat on his legs. Peter settled into an armchair to watch. "You guys are."

The other four laughed. "I'd have to disagree, Padfoot," Katie said. "You are _very_ comfortable." Sirius rolled his eyes. Katie leaned against Remus, her head on his shoulder. "You're comfortable too, Moony."

"I'm honored," he said, his smiled strained.

She noticed. "What's wrong, Moony?" she asked, concerned. "You look really pale. Are you sick?"

"No, I'm-" He looked at Sirius, whose face was an expressionless mask. He turned his gaze to James. "She wouldn't do anything," Prongs said. Peter nodded agreement. Remus sighed. He took her to a window, looking out at the night sky. Sirius, free of the weight on his stomach, sat up to watch, apprehensive looks on both looks on both his and James's faces.

"Look at the moon," Remus was saying. "It's nearly full. Tomorrow it will be. You've been asking Sirius how he can promise there's no werewolves in the forest." He turned from the moon to her eyes. "Well... I'm the reason."

Katie looked confused. "Huh?" she said stupidly.

If it hadn't been so serious, Remus would have laughed. He knew he'd have to be blunt with this one. "My name is Moony 'cause I'm a werewolf."

It took a second to hit her. "Oh my god..." She stepped back.

"Katie, please..."

"Bloody hell…"

"Please, Katie," Moony pleaded. Her face, Sirius noted, was as white as it had been the night of their detention. "Merlin… This is why I was so scared to tell you, Kit." He lowered his voice so that the other Marauders couldn't hear him no matter how hard they strained their ears. "I…I fancy you…a lot, Kit… Please don't hate me. I don't know if I could bear it. Please…"

Something in his words seemed to calm her and bring the color back into her cheeks. "I won't, Remus," she said, squeezing his hand. "I'm gonna go to bed, okay, boys?" Her voice was stilled a little shaky, as if she was forcing the cheeriness of it, but they just nodded silently. She hesitated a second before she pecked Lupin's cheek with a kiss and hurried up the stairs.

"That went well," Sirius said after a few minutes of stunned silence.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Wow. Yeah, this chapter was HARD. Like, majorly. All that editing and deleting, and typing a ton of stuff…! PLEASE, ya'll, R&R to make it worth it.

LandUnderWave- Thanks!

kamers- yeah… smother

this-love-is-sirius- haha. Thanks. Here's more!

-Carp


	6. Betray Me With a Kiss

Author's Note: I'm on a roll... Lol. Yeah, I've been working hard on this editting thing.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER SIX:** _Betray me With a Kiss_

"The Inner Eye is not a tool for everyday use..." drawled Professor Acompara mystically. "Some can use it ... some cannot... Very few get visions... I am one of them..." A girl in the back yawned loudly and her twin giggled. "Misses Crouch... The Inner Eye tells me to take ten points off from Gryffindor ... for rudeness ... so I shall..." Groans and angry mutters of "Thanks a lot, Eva" and "Good going, Angela" were heard for a moment before Acompara settled them down, leaving the blushing twins alone. "The Inner Eye shows that the O.W.L.s next month ... will require interpreting the alignment of certain planets... Get to work!"

The Crouch twins had been paired together so, because of their last names, Sirius and Jaclyn were at the same table. (Jessika was in Ancient Runes at the moment.) Jaclyn was busy looking up what the signs meant while Sirius wrote down random things. And the worst part was, he had an O and she a mere E.

"Black, help me. What does this mean?" She pointed to something on her chart.

"Dunno," he said.

"You didn't even look," she whined.

"I gave up looking when I got three Uranuses."

Jaclyn gave a snort of laughter, but caught herself at Lily's reproachful look. Lily was working with Jamie. Jamie caught her cousin's gaze and raised her eyebrows.

"Sirius Black?" she mouthed. Jaclyn shrugged and a slight pinkness colored her cheeks. Thankfully, Lily missed it.

Her cheeks were still roses when she buried herself back in the books and charts on their table, and it didn't help that she could feel Sirius's eyes on her the whole time.

---

They were told to continue mapping out what the next month had in store for them, then read pages 182 to 190. Jaclyn sat in the common room, her book open, but she wasn't reading. She had a letter open and a picture album lay in front of her on the couch. Sirius came down the steps quietly and, not seeing anyone from either of their cliques, sat down at the other end, watching her. She wore loose flannel pants and a tank-top – called a camisole if he remembered correctly. When she noticed his gaze, she pulled on a sweater to hide her slightly exposed chest. He leaned forward and stared at the pictures she had open. They were all still, which fascinated him. There was a picture of a small, white puppy with shaggy fur and a blue pacifier in its mouth. The next was a picture of that same dog and pacifier in a straight-haired Jaclyn's arms. On the next page was a full-sized picture of a family, Jaclyn's family he assumed. There was a larger, beefy man with blonde hair, smiling with a slight twinkle in his blue-gray eyes. His arm was around a plump brunette woman, who had the same happy twinkle behind her glasses in her brown eyes. In front of her was a blonde boy, grinning and showing off a missing tooth. His cheeks went up and hid his eyes when he smiled just like Jaclyn's did. Next to him was Jaclyn, completing the picture.

"Yes, Black?" Jaclyn said, annoyance very apparent in her voice.

He continued staring at the pictures. "Muggle pictures are weird. Are you a half-blood?"

"I'm Muggleborn," she replied stiffly.

He looked taken aback. "Sorry. How was I supposed to know? I know almost _nothing_ about you."

"Black, even the _Slytherins_ know I'm Muggleborn."

"Who's the boy?" he asked, hoping to change the subject. "The one in the big picture."

"Jealous?" she teased.

"No."

"Good. He's my brother Jonathon." She pointed at the large man. "That's Daddy." She gave a spoiled grin, looking for a moment like his cousin Narcissa, but the likeness faded only a second later as she pointed at the woman. "That's my mom." Her smile was soft and loving, but had a hint of challenge to it. Sirius suspected she was trying to prove something to her, but did not ask about it.

"And the dog-thing? On the other page?" He called it a dog-thing because in his opinion that was _not_ a real dog. _He_ knew what a _real_ dog was.

Her eyes lit up and softened all at the same time. "That's Randi. She's my baby."

"How come your hair is straight in this one?" He slid close to her and pointed.

"I'd straightened it. You use two hot pieces of metal and slide it along your hair. It's a Muggle thing. I was so tired of my curls..."

He reached up and caressed one twisted golden lock gently. "They're pretty..." he breathed. "Is-Is it true that Lily's the only thing that stopped you from going with me?" His body was right up against hers now.

She blushed. "N-No," she lied. Her face gave away the truth, though. He raised an eyebrow in a disbelieving manner. "Okay, yes. Yes, it's true," she admitted.

"Yes?"

By the light of the fire, he could see her blush more. "Yes..."

He touched her chin and turned her face towards him. "So you fancy me after all?" he whispered huskily.

"Yes. Of course…"

His hand now cupped her chin and she instinctively shifted so that they could aim better. For a few amazing moments, Sirius and Jaclyn just peered into each other's eyes, her into his dark blue, him into her ever-changing but currently green ones. She couldn't breathe for fear of shattering this wonderful moment. She'd dreamt of this almost every night for years now, wonderful dreams, but they were nothing compared to the reality. "Sirius, I-" Whatever she was going to say, however, was cut off as he lightly touched his lips to hers. She let out a sharp breath, and he pulled away, looking concerned. When she said nothing, he returned to what he had been doing. The kiss slowly deepened and she went with it. As one who didn't much like tongue, she found his light usage of it very pleasing. They lay down, him above her, and her letter and pictures fell to the floor unnoticed. Soon, his hands began to travel, down her torso to settle low on her hips; his mouth moved down her chin to her neck. That was _amazing_! No guy had ever kissed her neck before, and she _loved_ it. A small whimper-moan was emitted when her went back to her lips. He chuckled softly, but didn't return to her neck. Inside, she was slightly disappointed, but this was worth it. Her fingers were entwined in his soft black hair and she was kissing him back with such a fervor, it was amazing that she wasn't dead from lack of oxygen.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Lily, Jamie, and Jessika sat on the dorm room floor, attempting to play a game of what Lily called "Go Fish" with a pack of Muggle cards. I say attempting, because after going over the rules six times and then explaining that it really didn't matter _why_ it was called "Go Fish" when there were no fish involved, Lily was now trying to make Jessika see that pointing her wand at the pile and saying _"Accio Six"_ was cheating. She was failing miserably at this. Finally, she threw up her hands and exclaimed, "I give up!" She stood, the other two looking rather offended. "I'm getting Jaclyn. Maybe she can take a break from her homework long enough to help me get through your thick heads. She left the dormitory, the other two following after her, amused expressions on both their faces.

"Jaclyn Alayne Carter!"

They both jumped. Sirius fell off the couch. Lily Evans stood at the foot of the stairs to their dorm, hands on her hips and looking furious. Jessika and Jamie stood on either side, horrified. Jaclyn grabbed her stuff and ran up the stairs, stepping on Sirius in her hurry.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jaclyn threw herself on her bed, her books falling to the floor. She let silent tears soak into her pillow as she buried her face into it. The whole time she was muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." How could she have let herself do that? She'd resisted temptation for so long. What was different this time? She sat up suddenly and violently hurled her lamp across the room and it hit he wall next to the door, shattering into a million pieces and narrowly missing Katie's blonde head as she slipped in. She sat on the bed with Jaclyn.

"Lily ... told me loudly, to put it kindly."

"I didn't mean to..." Jaclyn whispered.

"Duh," she said bluntly. "You wouldn't betray her purposely."

"I didn't betray her!"

"Yes you did. You were stupid, he was a sweet talker, and you fell for it for just a moment too long. But, if it makes you feel better, his heart's in the right place. He wasn't taking advantage of you or anything..."

"That doesn't help!" she lied angrily.

"And why not?" Katie replied indignantly.

"Because... Just go!"

"Suit yourself." Without another word, she stood up and left.

Jaclyn had about five minutes to collect herself before the door slammed open again, revealing a still-fuming Lily Evans.

"How could you!"

"Lily, I-"

"How could you go around with Sirius Black! He's your worst enemy!"

"Lily! Isn't that a little-"

"Bet you just enjoyed your little snog session with him!"

"No, I-"

"Shut up, Jaclyn! I thought I could trust you! But you betrayed me. You betrayed me with a kiss!" She left, slamming the door again. Jaclyn hid under the covers and sobbed herself to sleep, thinking about the train ride and how she had asked herself what her friends would do if they found out she liked Sirius. Now she knew. She wished she still didn't...

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Woo! Drama, baby! Yeah! This one was nearly as tedious to edit as the last one, seeing as I didn't change much, but I wish I could do something to the end to make it better, but I dunno what. Suggestions?

LandUnderWave- hehe. Thanks!

kamers- Yeah, yeah. Gotta love Beauty and the Beast. Yes, you are a bitch, but I caught it and have fixed it, thank you very much, COUSIN. Grrr…

this-love-is-sirius- Kit is the nickname I gave my real life best friend Katie, whom the character is based off, so that's why I have the girls, and now the guys are starting to, call her that. Anyway, yeah, it's going to be a shaky thing, but…I dunno. Can't give too much away, now can I? Mainly cause I don't know anymore myself. Haha.

-Carp


	7. Betray Me With a Curse

Author's Note: Yes, I realize the title is almost exactly like 6's, but that's kinda the point. Jaclyn betrayed Lily, now Sirius is betraying (well, more disappointing and hurting her bad) Jaclyn.

Disclaimer: Okay, this REALLY ain't _my_ chapter. I even stole like three pages out of OotP. …No, borrowed. But yeah.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER SEVEN:** _Betray me With a Curse_

Jaclyn and Lily didn't say much for a couple of days until O.W.L.s put pressure on them. Then they spent hours in their dorm or the common room, studying. Sirius attempted to talk to her, but then stayed far away after getting hit with some of the pair's hexes. But as the time until O.W.L.s dwindled down to a mere three days, he decided he _had_ to talk to her, no matter what it took. On the way down to the Great Hall for dinner, she was talking with the other four in her group. He hid behind a suit of armor and used "Diffindo" on her bag and it split. She made the other girls go on; she'd catch up. When they were out of sight, he emerged from the shadows.

"Can I help?" he asked timidly.

"Did _you_ do this? Dammit, Black!" She repaired her bag and began violently shoving things back in it.

"I just wanted to talk to you..."

She jumped up, furious. "You want to talk, Black! About what? How you _tricked_ me into kissing you! Or how about how I nearly _lost _my best friend because of it!" A few first years had stopped and were staring. She turned on them with her wand out. "_You're_ gonna lose a few _limbs_ if you don't get out of here!" she shouted at them. They squealed and scurried into the Great Hall.

"Jaclyn, I-" he began

She whirled back around to face him. "So which one is it, Black? Which-!" He grabbed her and kissed her. She was dazed and silent when he came up.

"Good. Now _stay_ quiet. Look, Jaclyn, I'm _sorry_, okay? I didn't mean to. If you'd just give me a chance I'd change. Really."

She seemed to have recovered. "I'll believe it when I see it," she spat coldly. She fixed her lip-gloss in the mirror before leaving Sirius alone in the entrance hall.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

((A/N: The following is mostly JKR. I'll say when I directly quote it.)) The final days before O.W.L.s were a rush of studying, even for James and Sirius who swore they knew it all, since Remus made them study. Everyone took their seats for their Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. They were in the Great Hall, but the four House tables were gone. Instead, there were more than a hundred smaller tables, all facing the same way, at each of which sat a student, head bent low, scribbling on a roll of parchment. The only sound was the scratching of quills and the occasional rustle as somebody adjusted their parchment. It was clearly exam time.

Katie got question ten down easily. "Give five signs that identify the werewolf." She glanced at a pale-faced Remus. Full moon was nearing. He caught her gaze, held up ten fingers, and frowned. She grinned sympathetically. She could imagine that he would hate to have to answer that one. Back to the paper...

Jaclyn stretched as she finished answering the final question and placed her quill down. She lay her head on the table and dozed off, jerked awake again by Professor Flitwick as he called for the papers.

((A/N: DQ: Order of the Phoenix, "Snape's Worst Memory," JKR, pg. 642, US paperback version.)) "Quills down please!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! _Accio!_"

Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backward off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows and lifted him back onto his feet.

"Thank you... thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!" ((A/N: EQ.))

The students were up like jack-in-the-boxes and an instant chatter filled the Hall. It was so loud that the teachers didn't even _try_ to stop them from talking. The five girls met up and began discussing the test.

"I think I missed number twenty-three," Jess moaned. "Are Red Caps true Dark creatures?"

"Yes," Lily said.

"Why?" The two went on for a few minutes. The other three didn't bother to listen.

"So, are they true Dark Creatures?" Lily was saying.

"Yes... Damn it!"

"I can't believe you missed that one, Jess! Jac-?"

"Shh!" she gestured to the group of people in front of them. It was Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter. She didn't want them to notice them behind them. She pointed to the lake and they headed over to it, removing their socks and shoes and dipping their feet into the water.

"Look at him," Lily muttered. They looked at the beech tree the boys had planted themselves under. "Playing with that stupid Snitch, messing up his hair, and he keeps looking over here. Quick, look away!"

"Hey, Lil, I think _someone_ has a crush on you," Jamie teased.

"Oh, really?" she asked in mock surprise. "I was wondering what five years of non-stop asking me out meant."

Everyone except Jessika laughed. She was staring at the beech again. "Leave him alone... Just leave him alone for once..."

James and Sirius were striding towards Snape, wands out.

((A/N: DQ: Order of the Phoenix, "Snape's Worst Memory," JKR, pg. 645-649, US paperback version.)) "All right Snivellus?" said James loudly.

Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, "_Expelliarmus!_"

Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"_Impedimenta!"_ he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet halfway through a dive towards his own fallen wand.

Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had got to their feet and were edging nearer. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained.

Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands raised, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the water's edge as he went. Pettigrew was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Lupin to get a clearer view.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James.

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

Several people watching laughed; Snape was clearly unpopular.

Wormtail sniggered shrilly. Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.

"You - wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing, "you - wait!"

"Wait for what?" said Sirius coolly. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Snape let out a stream of mixed swear words and hexes, but with his wand ten feet away nothing happened.

"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "_Scourgify!_"

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him -

"Leave him ALONE!"

James and Sirius looked round. James's free hand immediately jumped to his hair.

It was one of the girls from the lake edge. She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders, and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes.

"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he _exists_, if you know what I mean..."

Many of the surrounding students laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included, but Lupin, still apparently intent on his book, didn't, and nor did Lily.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on... go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch towards his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, and turned back to Snape. "OY!"

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about: a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd cheered; Sirius, James and Wormtail roared with laughter.

Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!"

"Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upwards; Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "_Petrificus Totalus!_" and Snape kneeled over again, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!"

James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the counter-curse.

"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus–"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily blinked.

"Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is."

"What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a - you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can - I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

She turned on her heel and hurried away.

"Evans!" James shouted after her. "Hey, EVANS!"

But she didn't look back.

"What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.

"Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right–"

There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside-down in the air.

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" ((A/N: EQ.))

Jaclyn slipped away from the girls as they stormed into the castle. Instead, she pushed to the front of the crowd and met Sirius's gaze. He gave a bark of laughter and deliberately turned his eyes away from hers and avoided them. A single tear escaped but she hid it on a sleeve. He'd told her he'd change. She should've known not to believe him, not to hope. Rage boiled up inside her. She hit James and Sirius with jinxes so powerful that Snape was freed, landed on his head, and was allowed to grab his wand again. Sirius caught her gaze and his eyes widened. She calmly put her wand away again, turned on her heel, and left. The tears really began to fall when she got inside.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A/N: Man, when I first wrote this, I was so amazingly glad, you know that? It's important to year 5, and I just wanted it up so I could get to year six. Anyway, VERY easy edit, since so much of it is from the real books. Review me, please!

LandUnderWater- yeah, that's how my eyes really are. Actually Jaclyn is supposed to be me, but with curly hair and a better body. Lol

Nicoley117- thank you very much! Lol. You're inflating my ego, you know that? Soon my head will be as big as James'! Actually, I doubt that even I could that bad. Haha. Anyway, thanks again, for the compliment partly, but mostly for the review itself!

Ya'll, it says 15 reviews, but I can only see like 12 or 13 right now. I'll answer any questions you have next time when they finally show up, but for now you'll just have to accept a collective thanks.

-Carp


	8. Under the Whomping Willow

Author's Note: I'm insane. I woke up at three am when I first wrote this. This time, it's 6:36 PM, a much smarter time to begin. Also, my friend was quick to point out that Oliver Wood was not alive back then. The Wood in here is Oliver Wood Sr., Harry's captain's father. Just to clear things up...

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER EIGHT:** _Under the Whomping Willow_

The fifth-years of both Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses filed into Professor Slughorn's dungeon for Double Potions the next Monday. James, Sirius, and Peter took their favorite seats in the back of the room – though, it was hard to have a favorite _anything_ in a class with the Slytherins. Lately, however, it had been worse, much worse. About a month before their O.W.L.s, Professor Horace Slughorn was struck down by an awful illness and was temporarily replaced by a new Potions Mistress, Madam Sareh Scythe. As shrewd and politic as Slughorn was, he'd still treated his students fairly, regardless of House or blood. The same could not be said for Madam Scythe.

"Hey, Prongs?" whispered Katie, joining their table. She normally sat with three other Gryffindors, Devon Heck one of the Gryffindor Chasers, Ivy Robins, and Andrew Carson, since she had no room at the boys' table, and was just the fifth add-on to the girls' group. Whenever Remus was out, though, she sat in his spot with the boys.

"What?" he muttered back.

"Moony out for the week?"

"Yeah. Started last night. Pomfrey came to get him."

"Okay, just wondering."

At the table in front of them, Snape was listening intently. James and Peter glared at him and he quickly turned away. Sirius slipped a firecracker into his hand. If Scythe would look away for just a minute, he could toss it in there, and then-

"I wouldn't do that, dear cousin," hissed a voice from the table next to them. Sirius snapped his head around. Bellatrix Black shared a cauldron with Rudolphus Lestrange and two other Slytherins. Rudolphus had his arm protectively around her waist. Sirius scowled.

"I appreciate your concern, Bellatrix, but I would appreciate it more if you'd keep your pretty little ass-"

"Sirius!" Katie hissed. She gestured to Scythe, who was glaring at them with beady black eyes framed by small, black-rimmed glasses. She glided over to them, her black robes rustling softly as she came to a stop.

"Potter, Black, Pettigrew, Miss Bly, I will see you all in detention next Tuesday. I would suggest you don't disrupt my class again."

"But I have Quidditch practice!" James exclaimed, looking horrified.

"Even better! But if it makes it easier, a teammate can join you." Her cold eyes fell on Jaclyn, sitting across the room. "Miss Carter, would you like to join your fellow Chaser and his friends in detention next Tuesday?" she asked in a sickly-sweet voice.

"What!"

"I'm glad you agree." She smirked, smoother her tight, black bun, and turned away. "You can thank Mr. Black later," she said as the bell rang and the Gryffindors surged through the door.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Sirius tripped Snape in the corridors later that day and discreetly dropped a crumpled piece of parchment on the ground as he passed, laughing. Snape stood up, brushed himself off, and scraped his greasy hair out of his face, before noticing the paper. He picked it up, wondering whose it was. His cold, black eyes glanced nervously around before opening it and they widened as they read what was written.

_You greasy, nosy little git are seemingly set on learning where Remus Lupin goes each month and though it is none of your business, this will tell you how:_

_Prod the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow tonight. Follow the tunnel underneath its roots. At the end is your answer._

_Good luck, and wash your hair, you filthy slimeball._

He pocketed it and quickly headed to Slytherin Tower.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

"I can't believe Scythe gave us detention!" Sirius complained as the Marauders and Katie headed to Gryffindor Tower to prepare for dinner.

"Shut up, Padfoot!" Prongs ordered. "I have Quidditch practice! Wood's gonna kill me!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Katie snapped. They were instantly silent. Katie rarely got angry, but when she did, they obeyed. "I can't believe she gave _Jaclyn_ detention. She wasn't even _sitting_ near us."

Sirius looked worried and bit his lip. "D'you think she upset?" he asked as they climbed through the portrait hole.

"YOU!" a voice screeched as they landed on the other side. As Sirius spun around, a fist landed squarely on the side of his chin with a thud. He grabbed Jaclyn's wrists as her fists flew in for another assault. "Let go of me!" she screamed. Her curls were flying in her rage as she fought against him. His eyes were wide in surprise and fright.

"I think that answers you question," Peter said.

Katie slapped the back of his head at his tactlessness and rushed forward to help, as Jaclyn, arms restrained, had begun aiming kicks toward Sirius's crotch, narrowly missing each time. People stopped what they were doing and turned to stare. Katie caught her friend around the middle and forced her out of range. Sirius looked relieved.

"Jaclyn, calm-!" she began.

"NO! I've never gotten a detention before in my life! Don't tell me to calm down!"

"Never?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"NEVER!" she screeched. "And now because of you-!"

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" he bellowed, equally loud. She went into a sort of stunned silence. She hadn't expected him to yell back. "I'm sorry Scythe is a foul, stinking rat, but it's not my fault the bitch took her hate for Gryffindor and Muggleborns out on you!"

"If you and your cousin-!"

"Shut up, Jaclyn! SHUT UP!"

"Detention's not that bad, Jaclyn..." Katie said soothingly.

"My mom's gonna find out! My-!" The fight seemed to go out of her and she went limp, but they didn't let go. "My _dad's_ gonna find out..." she whispered. Suddenly tears were streaming down her face and Katie released her. She fell into Sirius's arms and sobbed onto his shoulder. His eyes widened in horror. "Help!" he mouthed to Katie as he patted Jaclyn's head gently. Before Katie could do anything, however, Jaclyn pulled away, slapped him, and sprinted up the stairs. They could hear the door slam all the way downstairs.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A bruise from the punch was already forming on Sirius's chin as the four boys headed down to the Willow for their visit with Lupin. He rubbed it gingerly and scowled as James threw his Invisibility Cloak over the three of them.

"Stop complaining, Padfoot," Prongs snapped.

"I didn't complain!"

"He's right, you know," Wormtail cut in.

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't! And anyway, you'd complain too if _Lily _had attacked and screamed at _you_."

"She had the right-"

"No, she didn't. I'm gonna kill Bellatrix!"

James put his arm out to stop them. "Who's that by the Willow?"

"Snape," Sirius said simply, not even bothering to look, but instead focused on removing a speck of dirt from under his fingernail. Severus disappeared down the tunnel.

"What did you do!?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Wormtail, freeze it!"

The rat zipped away and held the knot. James jumped into the tunnel and hurried down it. Where the hell...? Snape had fallen to the ground and looked horrified. He was at the end of the tunnel. Obviously, he'd seen Moony. Hopefully, Moony hadn't seen him. James grabbed him and put a hand over his mouth before he could yell. "Get out of here," he hissed, throwing, pushing, and kicking him to the tunnel entrance. Once they were safely out of the branches' range, Wormtail the rat let go of the knot.

James kicked Snape harder than he had so far that night. "Get the hell out of here! If you _ever_ tell _anyone_ what you saw-!" He was shaking too hard with rage to finish, but he didn't have to. Snape nodded and ran as fast as his skinny little legs could carry him. When he was well away, Peter transformed back and James rounded on Sirius.

"What were you thinking!"

He pondered this for a moment. "Maybe the Willow would kill him."

"Or maybe it wouldn't and Remus would. Then Remus would get expelled!"

Sirius didn't answer, just huffed away. A few minutes later, the other two followed suit.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A/N: Poor guys. But anyway. Dude, ok, I woke up at 3 to come finish this. haha! Just like before! I'm dumb.

LandUnderWave- hehe. No problem! I was bored.

Asian-Novelist- hmm… Ferdy gives the same complaint. For me it shows up fine, though, so I dunno… I'll check it out. Thanks for the review!

this-love-is-sirius- -bows- thank you!

Ferdy- wow, okay, so I wake up at 3 and see "26 reviews" and I freak out. I'm like, OMG!!! Lol. But anyway, thank you very much for the compliments. The first chapter: Yeah, if this were actually published, I would not have that. It's just easier for me and others to look at the summary of characters. I dunno. The names: Jaclyn is indeed the Americanized spelling of the French name Jacqueline, but as later on it's revealed the Jaclyn was born in the States, but moved when she was about 8, I feel it's fair for her to have that name. Katie, I believe, is perfectly fine, but I may be wrong in this. My excuse for Jessika is that my real life friend is spelled that way and I don't feel like changing it. I have no excuse for Jamie's name except perhaps that it's a Celtic/Gaelic name and FROM the name James anyway, which JKR used. Anyone else, I dunno. What can I say? I'm American.

Nicoley117- Nah, you weren't. I know I'm awesome without your help. –puffs out chest- Haha! Just kidding. I'm not too stuck-up. (No commenting on that, JAMIE!) That part was to my ever-so-wonderful cousin who I know will read this and review next time with something horrible. Lol.

kamers- Haha. Well, I had 6 up before you left, but yeah. –taunts- My story has more reviews than yours! NaNa NaNa BooBoo! Lol. Hey, everybody, check out kamers's story "Let Me Be Your Downfall" on her page. She's my cousin and really good.

-Carp


	9. All I am to You

Author's Note: -Big yawn- I am extremely tired after putting the last chapter up at such an ungodly hour, BUT I will still put this up now at a more sane hour (9:45 AM) because the editting will be easy. Oh, and if you haven't, check out kamers's story "Let Me Be Your Downfall" on her page. Just go to either my favorite stories, or favorite authors to get there.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER NINE:** _All I am to You_

When Remus returned a week later, James and Peter were quick to tell him what had happened. Now no one was talking to Sirius – not Jaclyn, not James, Peter, or Remus, definitely not Snape even though he didn't mind that one, not anyone but the annoying third year girls. It took him apologizing to Snape in front of witnesses to get Moony to forgive him. Jaclyn watched in awe from behind a bookshelf in the library and when Snape laughed at his retreating back, she Transfigured the Slytherin into a fish. As he flapped and struggled for breath, she decided she didn't want murder on her hands and turned him into a slug; she caught Sirius's eye, winked, and left the library, deciding to let the crowd fix him.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

At the doors to the Great Hall, she pulled out lip gloss as an excuse for being late for the End-of-Year Feast. She opened the large door and headed to the Gryffindor House table.

"Where've _you_ been?" Jessika demanded before her bottom could even touch the chair, as Jaclyn had expected.

She gestured to the doors with her lip gloss, pocketing it. "Bathroom," she answered simply. Jessika and Lily nodded their understanding. Katie rolled her eyes. As her wardrobe would show, Katie never was big on the whole makeup and perfect appearance thing. "Where's Jamison?" Jaclyn asked, noticing that the fifth member of their group was absent.

"Library. She had a last minute check-in."

Her stomach did a somersault. That's where the incident with Snape had happened. If Jamie had been in there, she might've seen Jaclyn Transfiguring Snape. She was lucky _Madam Pince_ hadn't seen her. But she was relieved of her fears only moments later. Jamie came rushing in with Ravenclaw Zach Schmidt behind her.

"Hey, did anyone come from the library?" Jamie asked as the three sat down, the Ravenclaw looking and probably feeling rather out of place among the Gryffindors. They shook their heads.

"Lily, Jess, and I were in here," Katie informed her. "Jaclyn was in the _bathroom_." She rolled her eyes again.

"Sirius Black apologized to Snape! Don't know what for, but-"

Lily choked on a sip of water. "Black apologized for something!" she gasped. Several people had turned to listen.

"Yeah, but that's not all!" Zach said eagerly. "When Snape laughed at Black, someone turned Snape into a fish-!"

"Who?" Jessika demanded.

"No one saw," the Ravenclaw boy said. Jaclyn nearly fainted with relief, but didn't let it show. "He was nearly dead – suffocation, you know – when someone turned him into a slug."

"Was it Black?" Katie asked.

"No," Jamie said, sounding slightly disappointed at his innocence. "It couldn't have been. He'd had his back turned and his wand in his pocket the whole time."

"What happened to Snape," Jaclyn asked, finally daring.

"Madam Pince had him taken to Professor McGonagall since Transfiguration is her department."

They all laughed, even Jaclyn. The groups of people on either side of them began moving the story down the table and Zach hurried off to share it with his House.

Snape and a crowd of Slytherins entered with a few stragglers from other Houses about twenty minutes later and Professor Dumbledore stood, clapping his hands for silence. In a second, it arrived. The Great Hall was instantly decked in scarlet and gold: the winning House's colors. Gryffindor cheered loudly, but in a moment all was quiet again. Scythe was smiling bitterly through clenched teeth and stern-faced Professor McGonagall was actually beaming with pride. But that wasn't the most amazing part. Lily actually smiled at their star Chaser, James, but only for a second, of course.

"Yes, yes, well done, Gryffindor!" Dumbledore began. "Quidditch and House Cups again! Your Head has already received the cups. But House Cups mean the end of the year, and, though I know you all love listening to me talk, the end of the year means the end of year feast. So farewell, students, and tuck in!"

As he sat down, mounds of food appeared on the tables. Several of the students had already begun shoveling food into their mouths as fast as humanly possible, including James and Sirius. The two were apparently having an eating contest, but it was impossible to tell who was winning as the boys had at least two pounds each of food in their mouths and were rapidly adding more. Lupin and Peter were talking to each other, acting as if they didn't know the other two. Jaclyn was attracting worried looks from her own friends and cousin as she moved food around on her plate but didn't eat any of it. Lily was rather amused by the situation and was "showing her how to eat."

"See, you take the fork and poke it through the meat ... go on ... good girl! Now, open your mouth ... c'mon, do it ... put the food in your mouth ... chew it ... like this... Now, swallow! Good! Now repeat."

"Lily, shut up," Jaclyn commanded in annoyance. "I just don't feel good."

"Do you want to go to Madame Pomfrey?"

"No. It's just because I don't want to leave." She turned to the blond on her right. "You're going out of town, right, Jamison?" She nodded and Jaclyn turned to Katie, seated on her left. "I'm staying at your house this summer."

"Glad to know that I'm your first choice," Katie replied sarcastically.

Jaclyn grinned. "Oh, but you're not!" she teased in mock surprise. "Everyone else is busy!"

"Gee, thanks!" she laughed, throwing a piece of chicken at her, which she easily ducked.

It didn't take long for those with the stomachs to eat to be full. Dumbledore stood up. His speech of good-bye to all and good-luck to the graduating seventh years nearly put the girls to sleep, but they clapped along with everyone else once he had finished.

"Ready for our last night in 5Gb?" Jaclyn sighed to them as they headed to the Tower.

"Shut up, Jac," Lily ordered. "You're depressing."

She grinned. "Good."

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

They sat in silence during the train ride home. Not even the boys interrupted them. Katie sighed and, tired of the lack of noise, grabbed Jaclyn and pulled her into the Marauders' compartment. James moved over and Katie pushed Jaclyn down to sit between him and Sirius. She landed herself on Remus's lap. He just rolled his eyes, sighed, and allowed her to wrap his arms loosely around her. However, despite his seeming annoyance, Jaclyn thought she could detect a sparkle in his eyes and the faint traces of a smile.

"Hey, Moony," Katie said cheerily.

"Hello, Bly."

"Hey, Jaclyn..." Sirius began warily.

"Black," she replied with a crisp nod.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Lily ain't around. You can stop acting like you don't like him."

"I do not-!"

"I read your diary," Katie interrupted bluntly, "so unless you lie to that thing, you like Sirius Black."

Jaclyn could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and could only imagine how red she'd gone so far. Sirius was giving an odd look, but was grinning.

"So you _do_ like me?"

"Shut up."

He poked her in the side and she jumped and gave a little squeak. He laughed, quite amused. "You squeak when I do that. Admit it."

"No!" She crossed her arms defiantly.

Poke. Squeak. "No!" Poke. Squeak. "No!" Over in Remus's lap, Katie had turned red from suppressed laughter. "Shut up, Katie!" Poke. Squeak. "NO!" Poke. Squeak. "Fine! I admit it! I like you, Sirius Black! Are you _happy_ now?" Katie released a burst of laughter when Sirius poked Jaclyn again just for the fun of it.

"Will you go out with me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I hate you, remember?"

"But you just said..." She grinned, beginning to enjoy being in here. "I don't get girls," he stated matter-of-factly, frowning.

"Despite the ones you've slept with," Lupin remarked airily, as if commenting on the weather.

"No one asked you!" He shot Jaclyn a furtive glance.

Her grin disappeared and she slapped him – hard. "Is that all I am to you, Black? A whore for your nighttime pleasure! Well, excuse me!" She stormed out, slamming the compartment door.

"Good job, Moony," Katie said cheerfully before following her friend out the door.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Like I said, easy editting. Review, ya'll!

kamers- yes, and I will continue to do so. See the top author's note. Anyway, you'll have lots of chapters eventually, you know that. You had more than me in the end last time.

LandUnderWave- Haha. Not dedicated, just insane. Thanks for the review, and thanks for looking at hers! Kudos.

-Carp


	10. Second Kiss, Mate

Author's Note: I really don't write anything worthwhile up here anymore, do I? Let's try... In this chapter, a touch of mystery and drama brings... Actually, I dunno. Just read it, okay?

Disclaimer: The Shoelace Strangler Hex, as I have fondly decided to call it, is my invention, but ya'll can use it if you want to.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER TEN:** _Second Kiss, Mate_

A voice announced that they were almost to the train station and should begin getting ready to leave the Hogwarts Express soon. Jaclyn was giving Katie the silent treatment and Jamie and Lily were both fast asleep in their corners. Katie and Jessika were playing wizard's chess, though they were not really friends due to a hex that Katie had performed on Jessika once which had caused her shoelaces to grow, tie her legs up tightly, and refused to unknot until Jaclyn made Katie command them to. They were just bored. Katie jumped up at the announcement, using it as her chance to get out of there.

"I'm going to go get Brandon," she announced to no one exactly and was surprised by Jessika a second later.

"Brandon? Your step-brother? Can I come, too?" she asked eagerly.

Katie looked a bit taken-aback. Jessika was cheerfully volunteering to go somewhere with her? "Um, sure, I guess you can. I'm just going to go get him and come back."

"I'll come!" she said brightly, jumping up.

"O...kay? If you really want to..." She led the way out of the compartment and as Jessika followed her down the hall, the girl was fixing her long curtain of black hair and straightening her clothes. Katie pretended she didn't notice. She had just remembered the sort of _obsession_ Jessika had with Brandon. Katie couldn't stop her from acting strange if she tried. Not even the Imperius Curse could get rid of that girl's strangeness.

As the neared the compartment, Katie saw a blonde Hufflepuff girl storming out of it. She vaguely remembered her as some obsession of her brother's – competition in Jessika's eyes. She waited a second before opening the door and sticking her head in, finding her brother banging his head on the window. She winced at each dull thud the soft impact made on the glass.

"Br-"

"What now!" He spun around and looked surprised to see he had snapped at his sister. "Oh, sorry... What do you want?"

"Come down to our compartment." It was Jessika who spoke and both siblings were surprised. "Um ... please?"

He stared for a moment at this pretty girl before shrugging. "Okay. Lead the way, Jennifer."

"It's Jessika."

He tossed his long brown hair out of his hazel eyes. "That's what I said."

Jessika waved it away. All she wanted was to kiss this boy and you don't worry about names when doing _that_. Though, if it were anyone else, they'd be down on the ground begging for mercy in a second. _He has a nice butt,_ she thought.

They walked part of the way in silence before stopping in front of a random compartment as Katie grabbed Brandon's arm. "What's wrong, Brandon?"

"Roza just broke up with me."

"You mean that Hufflepuff girl?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"She thinks I was cheating on her."

"Were you?"

"No!"

"Sorry!"

"Oh, isn't that the _saddest_ thing!" a sickly-sweet voice crooned from the "random compartment." Bellatrix Black had emerged with the younger Narcissa Black and two brown-haired Slytherin third-years – Lauren and Danielle Rooney, Brandon's sisters and Katie's step-sisters. Rudolphus Lestrange was hanging on Bellatrix, his hands exploring her upper-half and moving to slip into her lower half as Bellatrix spoke.

"If you want to see something really sad, look in your mirror, Black!" Katie spat. Luckily, Katie was a natural beauty without all the make-up her friends caked on. Bellatrix couldn't insult her looks. Of course, Bellatrix was pretty herself, but couldn't match Katie.

"Are you saying I'm ugly, Bly?" she spat, and Rudolphus Lestrange growled low in defense of his bitch.

"You make Filch look good, Black!" she shot back.

She feigned looking as though she were near tears. "I'm touched, Bly. That's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say."

Katie waved her wand, making the others tense. All it did was conjure a Muggle Q-Tip. She levitated it in front of Black's face, who eyed it warily. Katie noticed and laughed. "Scared, Black? It's for cleaning out your ears! I think you need it."

Bellatrix crushed it with one delicate hand. Rudolphus hadn't stopped exploring her body yet and she let out a soft whimper as he hit a sensitive spot. She snapped her fingers and he reluctantly called off the search, placing his hands into his pockets.

Katie looked disgusted. "What's wrong, whore? Can't wait to get _Rudolph_ alone ... again?"

Bellatrix raised her wand angrily and a yell of _"Petrificus Totalus_" was heard. They all drew wands, but when the flash of light died down, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaw saw Bellatrix land on the floor, stiff as a board. Third year Danielle stepped forward, her own wand raised, and tapped Bellatrix muttering, _"Finite." _Bellatrix stood up and brushed herself off, combing her fingers through her black hair before regaining her composure. She smiled a fake sweet smile at them, but didn't seem to be looking at them, but past them. "Sticking up for your girlfriend, _Lupin_?"

Katie spun around to see Remus there, wand raised and looking rather calm. "Yes," he answered simply. Her mouth fell open. "You leave Katie alone, Bellatrix. I'm warning you."

She laughed coldly. "Oh, yes, bow down to the mighty Remus Lupin!" she shot sarcastically. "He shall rule us all!" She glared at him as he came up in front of Katie, shielding her. Jessika hid behind Brandon. "News flash, Lupin! The Dark Lord is rising! All would be foolish to stand in his way ... or in the way of his supporters." She eyed the couple. "You two Mudbloods live in peace, though I daresay your lives will be short once the Dark Lord has his way." She laughed and she and her followers retreated into her compartment, the boy moving his hands back into her pants once inside.

Remus turned to face Katie. Her mouth was still open in shock. "Girlfriend?" she squeaked. He flushed red. "You said _yes_ when she called me your girlfriend?"

"I just..."

They stared into each others eyes for a moment before letting their lips meet. Remus drew her closer as they kissed.

Jessika screamed. "Katie Bly! What the hell are you doing?" Brandon's jaw had dropped as he watched the boy kiss his sister. "I am _so_ telling Lily!" Jessika squealed, grabbing Brandon's arm and dragging him along into their compartment.

Remus pulled away first. "_Can_ I call you that?"

"What?"

He grinned. "My girlfriend."

She grinned too. "I can't stop you."

They were grinning like maniacs – maniacs in love. "James and Sirius are going to give us hell about this."

"Lily's gonna _murder_ me!" For some reason, this thought made her grin even more, which in turn made _him_ grin more.

The conductor announced that they had arrived at King's Cross. Hand-in-hand, they stepped off the train. When Katie's parents called to her and her many siblings, she pecked Remus on the cheek before running off. Sirius and James appeared at Remus's side as they watched the car pull away. Sirius clapped him on the back.

"Way to go, Moony!" he shouted with a whoop of excitement, punching the air.

James laughed and gave Lupin a thoughtful look. "Second kiss, mate!"

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A/N: Um… I finally threw in mention of Voldy-poo. Ten chapters and he's brought up once. Haha. How true to life am I?

LandUnderWave- Hmmm… It does that to me sometimes after a chapter is recently posted. You might just have to wait a little bit. The worst part is when I can't see my reviews to answer them on here.

brighteyes284- haha. No, this isn't the end. I've got 15 chapters already written and there are plenty more to go before this thing is over.

Ferdy- Wow. You talk a lot. The quotes: I just kinda threw it in however was easiest for me at the time. 1) Meh. I know it's weird, but I would have insulted someone the same exact way. 2) Actually, you have a point there. I'll prolly edit that later. 3) -shrug- What can I say? She's a bitch. 4) Lol. I know. But I had already written it, and besides, there are no other classes that he Gryffindors and Slytherins share. (I think.) 5) I never liked that segment either, to be honest, and cut out quite a bit more of confusion. I'll prolly edit that too when I fix number 2. 6) Never thought of it that way, honestly. You're right. I'll have to think on that one. Katie: No, she doesn't. She just knows about Moony, but calls them all by their nicknames cause that's what they call each other. Jaclyn: Haha. Yeah, I would. And by that I mean, Jaclyn is me and I wouldn't be happy. She's been wary of his intentions for a while now, as he is the school playboy, and she's very…stuck-up almost about her views against that, you know? Besides she (I) is (am) very moody and bitchy. Anything else? Phew! This is bigger than some of my story paragraphs!

Nicoley117- Haha. No problem. I enjoy answering reviews like this. I love when I see other writers do it. It makes me feel important to the story. Plus, you guys _are_ important to the story. Without this continual flow of reviews, I would have no desire or energy to do this – especially not at the ungodly hours I sometimes do it at!

-Carp


	11. Madame Marjorie

**CHAPTER ELEVEN:** _Madame Marjorie_

"Madame Marjorie! How good it is to see you again!" The rather ancient woman turned and looked around for the source of the noise. "Up here! I'm in the tree!" Jaclyn waved as Madame Marjorie Crouch looked up. The old lady's face broke into a wrinkled smile, revealing chipped yellow teeth, but the expression was a happy and kind one.

"Well, come down 'ere, girl! Lemme get a good look atcha!"

Jaclyn hopped out of the large oak tree and landed catlike in front of Madame Marjorie and her black toy poodle Rufus. Rufus leaped onto Jaclyn and she picked him up, petting him as he tried to devour her face. The dog's incessant licking was something Jaclyn was quite used to, however, for she had two Shih Tzus and a large mutt that did the same.

"My, 'ow yah've grown, Jacleen! 'Ow's 'Ogwarts, deary? Git inoo any trouble dis year?"

Jaclyn grinned. She loved this neighbor. Muggleborn witches and wizards were always sent a representative with their letters, so they could be shown that it was true and not a joke. Since Madame Marjorie had lived so close (only two houses down), she had been sent that fateful evening five years ago.

"No, ma'am. Well, except," she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "except our horrible Potions teacher gave me detention once, all because I'm Muggleborn."

This appeared to upset Madame Marjorie. Madame Marjorie was a relative of the pureblood Crouch family, but she had no prejudices at all against Muggleborns, something Jaclyn enjoyed immensely as she was a wonderful person to talk to about the Wizarding world during the summer or when she came home on holiday. Also, whenever her parents needed to send her something at Hogwarts during the year, Madame Marjorie assisted them to make sure it actually got there. "Oh my, not Slughorn! 'E was a'ways fair ter all de studenz at 'Ogwarts no matter what dey're back'roun'!"

"No, no, not Professor Slughorn! He fell ill a month before O.W.L.s. It was a horrible substitute, Madam Sareh Scythe. She got real chummy with the Slytherins and was very wrapped up in all that pure-blood nonsense."

Jaclyn and Madame Marjorie had moved onto the Carter's front porch. Rufus and Randi, one of Jaclyn's Shih Tzu's, were now playing in the yard together. "So, wad ezakly happened?"

"Well, Potter and Katie were whispering together, and apparently Black made a rude comment to Bellatrix and Scythe heard and gave the whole table detention – that is, Potter, Black, Pettigrew, and Katie. Not Lupin, he was sick. And then Potter complained about missing Quidditch practice, so she told him a fellow player could join him and picked me, all the way across the room! I was so angry…"

Madame Marjorie looked thoughtful. "Black is still up tah his same ol' tricks, den?"

"Yeah…" Jaclyn shrugged, but her cheeks turned the tiniest bit pinker.

Madame Marjorie caught this. "An' 'ow 'as 'e been treatin', you, deary?"

"Same as before. Nothing's changed in his behavior, except…" she trailed off.

"Yes?" Madame Marjorie pressed.

"Well, one night I was reading a letter from my mom and dad…" She flushed a little more. "Well, he came down and we were talking and looking at my pictures in that album you sent for my birthday – thank you, by the way – and we…we kissed. A lot." Her face was now a bright red, the same shade as the lipstick her elder companion was wearing.

"So? What den?" the old woman urged.

"Lily caught us."

"Oh." Madame Marjorie knew a lot about their personal relationships because of what Jaclyn told her or wrote her in letters. She knew what that meant. "An' 'ow are yah two now?"

"Well, it's the weirdest thing. Black seemed to have some sort of row with the other three really soon after and they stopped talking to him. It had something to do with Snape, I think, because on the last day of term, he went up to Snape and apologized! In front of people!" If Jaclyn had expected Madame Marjorie to be shocked or surprised at this news, she was bitterly disappointed. Instead, the old woman had a sort of smug grin on her face. "What?"

The grin became an all-out smile. "Dat boy is very in love witcha, Jacleen."

"Yeah, I figured that much out on my own, thanks, what with the obsessive stalking. He's almost as bad as Potter is with Lily."

She continued to smile, which was rather annoying Jaclyn. "Dat boy did not just apologize tah Snape for 'is friends' ben'fit. 'E 'as changed, Jacleen, an' you would do well tah take notice."

She looked for a moment as if about to argue with the elder witch, but then decided against it. She sank back into the chair, a tired and defeated look on her face. "I know. But…" She told her about what he and Potter had done to Snape on the day of their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. "I mean, I really hoped he would change, but…he didn't. I don't think he ever really will."

"Methinks apologizin' tah Snape musta bin a very big ting for 'im. You 'ave told me 'ow severe deir hate is for each udder." She raised her eyebrows, the annoying smile gone.

"I know, but…" She sighed. "You're right… I just don't know how I can trust him. He's the school playboy. He'll snog anything with a chest bigger than his. How do I know that his 'devotion' isn't mere lust? What if he just runs around on me the moment I give in." She was on the verge of tears.

"Do yah honesty tink 'e will do dat, Jacleen?" Madame Marjorie asked softly. "On'y you can answer dat, but really tink befar yah do. Tink abou' de look in 'is eyes. Tink about 'is kiss. An' use yer instinct, yer heart."

"I don't know! I don't know what to think any more! I fancy him so much, but I'm scared! He's a Black, _toujours pur_. It wouldn't take a genius to translate that, especially if they'd grown up learning Spanish and French. It means 'always pure,' Madame Marjorie, and I'm _not_ pure. He can't love me, and I can't love him!"

"Even doe yah do…" she said, in almost a whisper.

Jaclyn said nothing, as silent tears were now rolling down her cheeks. She just nodded slowly.

"Jacleen, I am old. I know what I am talkin' abou'. Don' let udders dictate who yah love an' how you love 'em. Yah need ter be '_appy_. I know dis Sirius Black loves you an' I know you love 'im too. Don' let Lily, or Scythe, or anyone's fanatic ways rule yer life, deary. Iz _yer_ life, for _you_ to run. Understand meh?"

Slowly, Jaclyn nodded, then heard a voice calling to her from inside the house. They both stood up. Madame Marjorie gathered her into a tight embrace before kissing her cheek. Then she and Rufus continued their evening walk as Randi returned to her owner, wagging her long, white tail and panting happily. Jaclyn's mother, Cindy Carter, came to the door and stepped out onto the porch.

"Who was that, honey?"

"Oh, Madame Marjorie stopped by to talk and ask how school was going."

"Oh, that nice old lady, the one that can do magic, right?" Jaclyn nodded. "Did she bring Rufus along? I know Randi loves her little playmate." Jaclyn nodded again, smiling. Randi barked her annoyance and hunger at them and Cindy said, "It's dinnertime. Help me set up." Jaclyn and her dog followed her mom into the house.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jackie- 

_Mom and I will be coming to get you this Saturday at 7 PM. We'll be coming by Floo, so be sure to warn your parents this time, instead of giving them a heart attack when someone suddenly appears in their fireplace during the six-o-clock news._

_-Kit_

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

_Kit-_

_Okay. See you then. And don't worry, I've already told them right after I got your letter. They'll be prepared this time. See you then!_

_-Jac_

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: This one took a bit longer than the last. I was going to just edit the old one, but I realized I absolutely hated the eleventh chapter. Of course, the way I did this means I'll pretty much have to redo chapter 12, too, so these are all going to be slower coming. Anyway, I really like how this turned out, although in my head, Madame Marjorie's accent seems kinda Jamaican. -shrug- Oh well. I like her character. She's a nice old lady. Review this, PLEASE, if you read it, because this chapter is brand new and it makes me worry.

Okay, I'm majorly PMSing, and as all the reviews basically say, "That was cute, update soon," can you guys just accept a collective thanks? I'm really not feeling good at all. Nothing against ya'll, I'm just…bleh… you know? You girls should know what I mean, or you will soon.

-Carp


	12. I've Given Up

Author's Note: Okay, I have to make this sorta end along the same lines the last one did because I want to keep thirteen the same, but I still have to basically write it over again like the last one. -sigh- Wish me luck!

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER TWELVE:** _I've Given Up_

Jaclyn made it safely to the Rooney house that evening. She was a little sad to be leaving her puppies and family after only a fortnight with them, but the chance to live with wizards was nothing she'd ever turn down. She'd stayed at Jessika's house plenty of times, thankfully, so the shock was nothing out of the ordinary for her. Once her head stopped spinning, Mrs. Rooney cleaned the ashes off her and then Katie led her into the kitchen. Jaclyn noticed that there was an unusually large gathering of teenage wizards around the table. There were four more wizards than usual. Her jaw dropped. Sitting around the table were not only Brandon Rooney, Lauren Rooney, Danielle Rooney, and Tyler Bly, but also Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, and Sirius Black.

"Hey, Carty," James called to her with a wave, but she ignored him. "Hey, what are you wearing?"

"They're Muggle clothes, you idiot," Remus, a half-blood like Katie, told him.

"Why are you wearing Muggle clothes?" Peter asked.

"Because I'm Muggleborn," she said bluntly.

"Oh."

Most of them were gaping now at her form-fitting jean shorts and tank top. She blushed, but her face still expressed the shock and rage she was feeling at seeing them there, especially Sirius. She grabbed Katie's arm and dragged her back into the living room, but everyone in the kitchen could hear her.

"WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE? …… I DON'T CARE IF HE'S YOUR BOYFRIEND! ……… I DON'T CARE IF THEY'RE YOUR FRIENDS! SIRIUS BLACK-!"

"SHUT UP!"

That worked, apparently, because they could hear no more of the "conversation." They did, however hear Jaclyn go pounding up the stairs and slam the door to the guestroom. Katie came walking into the kitchen, grinning.

"Sorry," Sirius said, his head in a hand propped up by his elbow. He looked thoroughly remorseful.

"Don't be," she replied, sitting on Remus, who promptly put his arms around her waist. "I _expected_ worse. You can go talk to her, if you want."

"I don't want to talk to her right now. Well, I do, but she doesn't want me near her."

"Well, of course she doesn't." She looked surprised that he'd even have to say it. "But we're all going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get her some robes. She's gotta have at least some level of tolerance for you. Go. Just don't tell her you love her or try to kiss her. It should be fine."

He looked apprehensive, but they had learned that Katie was the best source of advice and they had to trust her on girl issues, so he stood up, took a deep breath, and took the long way to the guestroom.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jaclyn was busy setting up a collapsible magical bed in the guestroom. Her face was red and her hair was a mess, but besides the sudden jerky movements she used, she seemed relatively calm. Sirius took a deep breath and walked into the room.

"Um, hey, Car- Jaclyn."

She ignored him.

"Need help setting up?"

Mrs. Rooney had put the bed in the room when she carried up her trunk, but Jaclyn was having difficulty opening it. She took a deep breath and let it drop to the floor. _One ... two ... three..._ she thought, and then spun around, ready to rage at him. But when she saw his face, she sighed. "Am I really that scary? Yeah, I need help."

If he was surprised by her docile, almost friendly, in fact, reaction, he didn't let it show. "Yeah, you can be quite scary. Grab that half. We're gonna have to pull hard. There's rust in the joints."

"Did it hurt badly when I punched you that time?" She grabbed the foot of the bed and he grabbed the head. They both heaved with all their might and were able to unfold it.

When he'd caught his breath, he said, "Yeah. You left a bruise."

She laughed and then looked down to examine the bed. She was surprised to see that it was fully made and the comforter was smoothed out with not a wrinkle in sight. Also, the pillows did not fall off when they turned the bed over to unfold the legs. "My apologies. Grab that leg." He did as commanded and pulled the leg upright, sliding the lock into place. She was having trouble with hers, only having been able to succeed in lifting it an inch off the bottom of the bed. He unfolded the other two before bothering to help her.

"Lemme help," he said, coming to her rescue. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed his hands on hers. Together, they pulled and managed to unfold it. They stood like that for a second to catch their breath, before Jaclyn realized how they were arranged. She tore her hands away and retreated to the opposite corner of the room, staring at him in an accusatory manner.

"What- Why- Black!"

"Sorry! I was just trying to help you!"

"Yeah right!"

"You don't have to believe me, but it's true! I'm not going to try anything with you anymore. I've given up. You obviously hate me and always will."

Her reply came out in a small voice, "I don't _hate_ you..."

He gave her a look that said, _Yeah, right,_ and she shut up. He dug in the pocket of his robes and pulled something small and flat out. "Here. Don't ask how I got it, because it doesn't matter. I don't want it anymore." He held it out to her. It was the picture the rat had stolen that night.

"How...? That rat... Why don't you want it?"

"What's the point?" He grabbed the side of the bed and flipped it onto its legs for her. It was still perfectly made. "You're welcome."

"Sirius..."

He left. She lay in her newly assembled bed and cried.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

((A/N: The following is in Jaclyn's POV. I like switching POVs every once in a while. If you guys like it, I'll do it again.))

I was up there for an hour just crying. Katie came in once, but left when she saw me. The problem with Katie, not that I really mind because I've got Jamie, is that she isn't really good at dealing with people when they're upset. She can really cheer you up though by distracting you and making you laugh. I guess I didn't seem like I should be cheered up, though, because she left without saying anything to me. I hope she tells Sirius. No, I hope she doesn't. I don't know what I want. I want Sirius, but I don't want Black. Does that make sense? I don't make sense. I want Sirius. Sirius is the one that is nice, that is normal, that looks at my pictures and asks about my family, and that you can just talk to, laugh with, or laugh at. I don't want Black. Black is the one that is mean, that taunts and curses people because he can, that is so full of himself, and that you can just _hate_. But I don't hate Sirius Black. I _love_ Sirius Black. Merlin, I screwed things up again... Why do I always screw things up?

My hour was over and my tears had died down. I looked at the clock next to Katie's bed. For a moment I didn't read the time, but the clock itself. It was wooden and the numbers seemed painted on it. It changed from 5:08 to 5:09 by the eight fading out and the nine fading in. I cheered up a slight bit. Staying with a wizarding family all summer would be fun.

I got out of bed and went to the mirror in Katie's bathroom. I wiped my eyes with a cold, damp tissue to reduce the tears-induced crying. I dug in my bag and found my make-up and reapplied it, wiping the stains from the previous coat away. Katie would hate to see me now. She hates make-up. It wastes too much time and she doesn't need it. She says we don't either, but we want to. It's fun. Then again, maybe we should listen to her. She's the one with the boyfriend. I'm the one with ruined chances. On second thought, I'm gonna wipe all this make-up off. Merlin, it's ugly! I'm putting it back on, now. What am I doing, worrying about make-up? I'm just stalling. Stop stalling, you wimp! Deep breath...

I headed down the stairs and stopped halfway to observe. More stalling... I saw seven teens gathered in the living room and only one of them a girl. Katie had all the luck. Six guys around her, even if two were her brothers. They were all laughing at some joke Sirius had just told. Peter was staring with wide eyes at Sirius, as if he were some idol to be worshipped. I, personally, think he is. No, Jaclyn, you will not let him see your pain! I mentally slapped myself. I sat on a stair and watched them. The laughter died down.

"Hey, Moony," Katie was saying, "Lily sent me a Howler yesterday."

"Really? I didn't know she knew how."

"It would seem that she does. She was yelling at me. You should have heard it. It was hilarious."

They all laughed, but then groaned as Katie planted herself in Remus's lap and they kissed. Even I groaned softly.

"Get a room!" James shouted, throwing a shoe at them, but they somehow managed to duck it without separating.

Katie pulled away and grinned. "Are we grossing you out?"

"I'm gonna hurl!" Brandon declared, trying to look disgusted, but laughing too much to pull off the look. "It is absolutely revolting to see someone snogging my sister!"

I wanted to go downstairs because a part of me wanted to rub it in Sirius's face that I _didn't_ miss him, but my heart told me I wouldn't be able to pull off the lie.

"Good!" Remus said with a laugh. "And we were not snogging!"

They laughed again with mixed in _Yeah, right_s and _Keep telling yourself that_s. How my heart longed to be a crowd of laughter again, even with four boys I absolutely despised.

"You look sad, dear," said a voice to my left. I jumped and turned. It was a portrait of someone I didn't know that closely resembled one of the Rooney ancestors.

"I-I'm fine."

A second lady, an older, sterner-looking, blonde one, stepped into the frame. She seemed to be part of Katie's mother's ancestry. I recognized her as one of the portraits in Katie's room.

"Oh, no you're not!" she said. I blushed. Did I really need a picture psycho-analyzing me? I get enough of that from my mother. "I saw the whole thing, Geraldine! That rude boy with the black hair went up there and was being really nice, then said some stuff to make her cry! She's been crying for an hour!"

"Really, I'm-"

"Oh my, you poor thing!" Geraldine exclaimed. "Candy will fix you something nice, dear." Candy? Oh, yeah, Katie's mom. "You should ask her."

"Really, I'm fine! I don't want to talk about it!"

"Well!" the blonde lady said, sounding offended. "All we did was try to help!" Both of them sniffed indignantly and walked out of the portrait.

"My apologies," I muttered to no one, quite annoyed.

"Jaclyn?"

I jumped and looked back down at the base of the stairs. Sirius was standing there. "What?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent and failing miserably.

"Why are you talking to yourself?"

"I wasn't. I was talking to the portrait."

"Oh." He paused for a second, as if hoping I'd say something. "Well, I'm leaving now..."

"So?"

He hesitated for a second, as if debating with someone. "Just telling you," he finally said. Wait, did I hurt him by pretending I didn't care? Cool!

Why doesn't this feel cool?

"Bye, then."

"Bye."

He turned and walked to the fireplace. First he, then James, disappeared in it. Remus kissed Katie again and took his place in the fire before disappearing like the other two. Peter, not wanting to be without his three friends, left via Floo Powder next. Mrs. Rooney called for dinner. I returned to my room. I wasn't hungry.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Okay, not as bad as I feared. Turned out, I got to use most of my old chapter after all. It fit. C'mon, people! Review!

kamers: Yeah, you've got a point. But she was recapping it all to Madame Marjorie, who in turn gave her that last little push toward Sirius. Of course, it'll take a _little_ bit more to get her to give in, but that definitely helped.

LandUnderWave: You're welcome!

-Carp


	13. DE in DA

Author's Note: Gets a little darker now…

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN:** _DE in DA_

Jaclyn woke up the next morning to her growling stomach. Actually, her stomach wasn't what woke her, but it was the second thing she noticed. The first was the sharp pinch on her arm that Katie had used to wake her. Jaclyn sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes groggily.

"Finally! I'd nearly given you up for dead! Rise and shine! We've got Diagon Alley today, remember?"

"I'm up..." Jaclyn groaned.

"If you want, you can borrow a set of robes from me. But _just_ for today!"

"Duh... Why would I want to keep _your_ clothes?"

"Hey, do you want to borrow them or not?"

"If I must..."

"I'd rather you not," Katie said, but threw a heap of clothing onto the bed at Jaclyn's feet. "Get ready!"

"Yes, _Mum_..."

"Shut up. You have five minutes before I give Misty your breakfast."

"I need more than that. Makeup?"

"Who are _you_ trying to impress?" There was an evil glint in her eye. Jaclyn glared dangerously at her. "Fine, ten, but that's all."

She shut the door on her way out. Jaclyn dragged herself from the bed and changed into Katie's robes. They were a perfect fit. She smiled and crossed the room to the full-length enchanted mirror. She wasn't too fond of this mirror because of the constant flow of insults it had given her the previous night, but she chanced it now. It seemed to glitter more strongly, as if smiling.

"I see you got rid of that horrible Muggle clothing," it whispered. "You look much more presentable. Now shoo, before you break me!"

Jaclyn rolled her eyes and headed out the door and down the stairs, only to see Katie setting a plate of pancakes before a fluffy white American Eskimo dog.

"Katie Bly!"

She jumped. "What?"

She pointed at the food.

"Oh yeah!" She laughed. "Don't worry, these were Lauren's. She already finished Danielle's. Yours are there, next to Brandon." She pointed. "You still had three and a half seconds before Misty finished this plate and I could give her yours. She likes pancakes, you know."

"Thanks," she muttered sarcastically, taking her seat and eating the breakfast fast, before Katie could change her mind and toss it to the floor. Mrs. Rooney was a good cook, she noticed. Tyler, who had already eaten, came running down the stairs, looking eager and clutching a sack of money. Candy came in after him, snatching the money away.

"No, Tyler!"

"Please, Mum? I wanna go!"

"No! This is for the older kids!"

"Why not!"

"No! It's too dangerous these days!"

He stormed up the stairs and slammed the door. She ran after him, muttering about how he was going to break that door.

"Of course, she _could_ just magic it fixed if he does," Brandon said when she was well out of earshot, grinning.

"That'd be too easy. Plus, you kids don't need to be slamming doors." It was Anthony, Katie's step dad.

"Hey, Tony," Katie said.

"Hey, dad," Brandon echoed. "Are you taking us?"

"I guess so..." he said, listening to the muffled argument through the ceiling. "Everyone ready?"

Jaclyn jumped up. "Wait! I forgot my money upstairs!" She streaked up the stairs, not wanting to take too long. She'd been to Diagon Alley before, of course, but never with other wizards. She'd never been able to explore, look into shops that they didn't need to, or just have fun. Her mom had always been in and out of only the "necessary" stores. She streaked back down again and ran into a boy with long, black hair at the bottom of the stairs. They both fell and Sirius caught her as she fell on top of him.

"Ow..." he said, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the floor.

She winced. Even though the floor was carpeted, she could imagine that it had hurt. She pushed off of him and stood up. "Are ... you okay?" she asked, holding out a hand for him. He took it and she helped him up, though the weight of him nearly dragged her back to the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ready to go to Diagon Alley?" he asked. His comment was as lighthearted as if he were an acquaintance commenting on the weather, but she could tell his eyes were examining her in the normal, form-fitting wizarding robes.

"Yes," she said, walking past him. He followed, but ran into her as she stopped suddenly at the entrance to the living room.

"What's–? Wormtail!" he burst out laughing at the sight in the living room. Peter was running around with a wastebasket stuck on his head.

Mrs. Rooney was busy chasing him around as he tripped over couches, chairs, tables, feet, and a dog. She had her wand out and everyone could tell she wanted to do a Removal Charm on it, but she couldn't risk it when he was moving in case she missed and his clothing shot of. No one wanted to see that fat little boy naked. As Sirius and Jaclyn walked into the room and joining their laughing and gaping friends. Peter tripped over Remus a few times and Brandon twice. James lucked out and managed to jump away, but in his place, Misty got tripped over – again. Finally, as he neared her again, Katie managed to leap onto Peter and pin him to the ground. Her mother, looking relieved but wasting no time thanking her, instantly performed the charm and the trash bin flew off his red and sweaty head. Katie climbed off him and returned to Remus's side and let her breathless mother pull the boy up and begin questioning him and calming him.

"Calm down, boy. Tell me what happened. Shh... Tell me how you got a wastebasket stuck to your head."

"I-I messed up th-the Floo P-P-Powder..." he said, lip trembling.

_Merlin_, James thought._ The boy's_ _nearly sixteen and he's_ _about to start crying._

"Shh... Where did you go?"

"S-Some old l-lady's house... Sh-She started scr-screaming and h-hitting me with h-h-h-her br-room. She j-jammed the w-wastebasket o-on my h-h-head right b-before I g-got here..."

Sirius snorted with laughter, but hastily covered it up with a rather fake-sounding cough. Peter glared at him as best he could in his situation. Sirius laughed and unconvincingly covered it up again.

"Well, Peter, would you like to stay here? I could take you back home..."

Renewed by the fear of being considered a coward by his friends, Peter shook his head furiously. "N-No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Well, then, let's go!" Mr. Rooney announced, sweeping them to the fireplace. Everyone, including Peter, though reluctantly, got in and whisked himself or herself to Diagon Alley.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jaclyn had always been fascinating with all the color and movement and excitement of Diagon Alley. Her eyes danced as she saw all the different shops, wanting to dash to each one, but Katie's step dad expertly herded them to Gringotts to exchange and withdraw money. Jaclyn went to the exchange counter and, to her surprise, Sirius followed her.

"Why aren't you going with the others?" she asked suspiciously.

"I've got my money. I'm not allowed to touch the Black account anymore, so I took what I could from their house."

She told the goblin she needed her money exchanged and gave him the sack. She turned back to Black. "Why aren't you...?"

"I ran away so they disowned me. I'm still a Black, but by name only. Of course, my little brother's getting himself mixed up in the wrong crowd – Lord Whoever's supporters – so it's only a matter of time before he gets himself killed. Then they'll have to reown me."

"Why'd you run away?" she asked, taking her bag of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts from the goblin and walking with Sirius out of Gringotts, forgetting about the rest of their group.

Outside it had started to rain slightly, but no one in the busy, rushing crowd noticed. They wandered aimlessly and ended up in front of Magical Menagerie. The noises of the animals drew Jaclyn, an avid animal-lover inside. Sirius followed. She repeated her question.

"You wouldn't want to meet my parents, or anyone in most of my family. You're scum, a worthless Mudblood-" he stumbled over the word, as if nearly unable to say it "-as far as they're concerned. They were all Slytherins, like my good-for-nothing brother and cousins."

Jaclyn pretended to be extremely interested in a custard-colored fur ball. It moved to look at her. It was cute, she noticed, but didn't dwell on it. "And you?" she asked Sirius quietly, nearly at a whisper. "As far as you're concerned what am I?"

"You are a beautiful, intelligent witch worthy of everything and anyone in our world."

She went scarlet and stuck a finger through the cage bars to pet the little thing. The sign said it was puffskein. It was adorable as it "ran" to her finger to be rubbed. "You change your mind a lot."

"What? Do you mean ... yesterday? Merlin, I didn't mean all that!"

"What?" She turned on him, her voice a little loud, causing a few of the animals to screech, which caused a wave of screeching animals. The shopkeeper chased them from the shop in anger before turning to calm the animals.

The rain outside had intensified. They heard a clap of thunder and saw lightning in the sky. The crowd began thinning as the storm began to get worse. They decided to begin looking for the rest of the group, having remembered them by now. When they weren't at Madame Malkin's or Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, they headed to Quality Quidditch Supplies. The only students that Jaclyn recognized were their Seeker, Devon Heck, and one of their Beaters, Eva Crouch. Jaclyn waved Devon over, but still hadn't seen James or any of the others. They chatted amiably about the next season for a few minutes until Devon said good-bye; Jaclyn pretended to be examining a model of the newest Silver Arrow until she had disappeared with her grandmother. The thing was beautiful, a true work of art, but a major hole in her pocket if she were to buy it. She tore herself away and turned to Sirius.

"What did you mean earlier?"

"I didn't mean what I told you yesterday, and it's not worth pretending that I did. But I've given up on trying to _get_ you." There was an evil glint in his eye. "You'll come to me on your own."

Before she could reply, he had dragged her out the door and into the rainy street again. "We should wait at Gringotts," he said.

She nodded. They could barely hear each other over the storm. Gringotts was only a few yards away; they could see it through the thin crowd. Suddenly a flash of green light flooded the rainy street. Several people screamed and they saw Eva Crouch drop to the ground a few feet in front of them. Angela Crouch was no where to be seen. Sirius grabbed Jaclyn's hand and they ran backwards. They could now see the Death Eater. He was tall with white-blonde hair protruding from under his mask. He saw them, and the eyes beneath the mask seemed to lock on Jaclyn.

"Do you like pain, you filthy Mudblood?"

Sirius stiffened and Jaclyn grabbed him tighter. The voice seemed familiar. He raised his wand, but Sirius jumped in front of her. He shrieked in pain as the Death Eater gave him the Cruciatus Curse instead of her.

The Death Eater lowered his wand as two others joined him. "Hurry up and kill them, already," one said, in a female voice that chilled Jaclyn to the bone. Why did she feel she knew that voice? Who were these people?

"They will die, but they must suffer first." The others disappeared.

Sirius was breathing heavily. He backed them into an alley, moving Jaclyn so that he blocked her from view completely. The Death Eater followed. "You're fun, blood-traitor. I'll save you for later." His wand rose and Sirius fell to the ground. The wand moved to point at Jaclyn. _"Crucio!"_

She screamed and screamed until she felt she would surely die, but after about thirty minutes of the fire-like pain, she blacked out...

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Dun dun dun... Lol. Hope ya'll liked my wastebasket trick up there. My brother was telling us about he woke up once with his head nearly stuck in the garbage can by his bed. So I imagined him trying to get down the stairs without falling, walking around and tripping over things, and trying to explain to my mom, and started cracking up. I'm so mean, but it was funny. Anyway, here's the unlucky chapter! Let's see how it goes for you guys! And if you're wondering, Angela did survive, but Eva didn't. I've got a friend Angela, Eva is what we call her and now it's her made-up twin.

LandUnderWave: Oh, yes. I loved that part. I was hoping I did a decent job with it, since last time I felt I didn't make it good enough.

Jessika: I am NOT the pyscho, Lacy-Lover! Lol. One reviewer said "I hope Katie gets the werewolf" while another said they wanted you to. Well, obviously, Kit got him, but at that point only me a Jamie knew. So there! I stick my tongue out at you!

kamers: Huh?

Nicoley117: Lol. Madame Marjorie came out at the spur of the moment. The old chapter was NOTHING like this, except that it opened with me greeting a neighbor, Madame Geraldine. That lady was mean and walked on, so the chapter continued with me going inside. I like this much better. I like my new old lady, and Rufus! Lol. I hate poodles, but I couldn't help it. Haha. They may, they may not. It's still undecided (well, I know, but for all you know, it's undecided), but you can draw your own conclusions from what happened in this chapter. Is this a soon enough update for you? Hehe.

-Carp


	14. All's Fair in Love and War

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN:** _All's Fair in Love and War_

Voices... Pain... Screaming... That was all Jaclyn knew when she woke later that day. She slowly opened one eye and moaned; every little movement hurt as if a stake was being driven into her skull. Her one open eye faced upwards toward the sky. It was pitch black and dotted with stars. Obviously, night had fallen.

"I heard something over here!" a cold, female voice called. She tensed. It was the voice…the woman from before that had left her to be tortured. Two sets of footsteps came hurrying toward her.

"Careful with the girl, Sareh," an old, familiar voice said. She recognized both voices, but this one was far welcomer.

"Yes, Albus," Professor Scythe replied. The Potions Mistress lifted her wrist with a surprising gentleness. The pain suddenly shooting through her was so intense that she kicked Scythe away, which in turn caused more pain. "She kicked me!"

"Well, no wonder! She was probably under the Cruciatus Curse for over an hour and a half, if not two hours, before I got here." Dumbledore set something on the ground next to her. She slowly and painfully turned her head and saw Sirius. He was not moving and, from her vantage point, did not appear to be breathing.

"Siri-" It hurt too much to talk.

Scythe shushed her in as soothing a voice as the cold woman could. _"Mobilicorpus."_

Jaclyn's body rose from the ground and, to her great surprise and relief, felt no pain. As she was floated away, she passed out again.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

When she woke up, the lingering pain of the Cruciatus Curse was gone. In fact, she felt completely numb, in a tingling sort of way. She opened her eyes and slowly looked around. She seemed to be in a hospital, probably St. Mungo's. The two beds on her left were filled. Sirius was next to her. His eyes were closed, but his chest rose and fell slowly; he was sleeping. On his other side was Katie. Turning to her right Jaclyn saw Devon Heck, sleeping as soundly as Sirius. She couldn't use her legs to sit up – or even move them at all – so she slid upwards with her arms and adjusted the pillows to support her. Katie sat up at the noise. Around her arm was a sling and her face was pale, but otherwise she looked fine.

"Hey, Carter."

"Wha' 'appent?" Jaclyn asked, speech slightly slurred, but understandable.

"Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley."

"No zit, Zerlock. Bu' I blackt ou' affer 'alf-an-hour of de Crusadist Cursh."

"Half-an-hour? That must've hurt."

"Yah tink?"

"Yup!" she answered brightly, but with a grin. Jaclyn loved the way she a Katie just argued or insulted each other like that, but not meaning a thing.

"So wha' 'appent?"

"You're talking funny."

"Prolly a pozin tah make it lesh payful. Wha' _'appent_?"

"Well, the Death Eaters were everywhere. Two came to Gringotts where we were looking for you and Sirius." Jaclyn felt a pang of guilt. "They did something and I fell. When Brandon and Tony tried to stop them, one used Stunners on them. He came back to me, but never hurt them." A flash of anger sparked in her usually calm green eyes. "They Crucio'd me and threw me until – and even after – my arm broke, but never touched them because they're purebloods and I'm a half-blood. It's not that I wanted them hurt, but it's not _fair_!"

"I'd rather have your family than mine." They both jumped. It was Sirius. He hadn't moved, but his eyes were now open, staring at the ceiling. "I'll bet you anything – not that I have much anymore – that it was Lucius that attacked you." He looked at Jaclyn.

"Malfoy? Tha' Slyth'in oo grajated a foo yerss ago?" Jaclyn asked

"It sounded like him."

"Yer relaided tah de Malfoys?"

"Unfortunately."

She shivered before turning back to Katie. "Why dih' de Deaf Eathers leaf?"

"I don't know," she replied.

"I do."

Everyone jumped again. Heads turned sharply to Jaclyn's right. Devon Heck slowly got up and sat cross-legged. She stretched and yawned.

"Why are you in here?" Katie asked, looking confused and skeptical. "You seem perfectly fine."

"I was under the Curse for about a minute so they sent me here with you three, and a few others." She shrugged.

"Others?"

"Of course. I was conscious when Dumbledore arrived-"

"Dubbledore? No wonner dey leff!" Jaclyn exclaimed, remembering when Dumbledore and Scythe had rescued Sirius and her.

"-and I heard the list of injured and dead."

"Who's dead?" Sirius demanded.

"Zach Schmidt, Eva Crouch, Lauren Rooney-" Katie let out a little squeak and went even paler than she had already been "-Arianne Nuka, Katherine Vitani, Natasha Kieran, and Jack Kieran."

"Wh-Who's injured?" Katie whispered.

Devon sighed. "Us, of course, and Remus Lupin-" Katie jumped and gave a sharp intake of breath, but Devon seemed to ignore it "-Damien Roberts, Caitrin Regan, Katia Cyrus, Brandon Rooney-" Katie flinched again, the movement accompanied by another gasp "-Arthur Weasley, Molly Prewett, and Stephen Rodriguez."

"How badly are they hurt?" Katie asked, this time hardly audible.

"How should I know?"

Suddenly a nurse opened the door and told them all to go to sleep, setting potions on each of the tables by their beds.

Sirius and Devon took theirs right away and fell asleep less than a second later, but Jaclyn hesitated before drinking hers; she noticed in the darkness something she'd never before seen in her life. Two tears leaked from her calm, brave Katie's eyes, as she lay white and trembling underneath the blanket. She hadn't touched her potion.

Jaclyn turned her head away from the chilling scene. She knew it must hurt to find out two people you loved were hurt and another dead. And what if it had been her? She remembered her brother wanting to come with. What if he had? What if her parents had brought them and Katie hadn't been there at all. What if a Death Eater had met up with her family? What would stop them from disposing of three Muggles walking along Diagon Alley? Certainly not her, a fifteen-year-old inexperienced witch. She glanced once more at Katie, tears now steadily flowing down her friend's face, and gulped down her potion. The potion wiped away her heavy thoughts and pulled her into a blissful, dreamless sleep within seconds.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

"I expected better from you."

"My Lord, I-"

"You helped the blood traitor and his Mudblood girlfriend."

"Albus Dumbledore was with me, my Lord. I could do nothing in front of him."

"Are you more afraid of him than me?"

"No, my Lord, of course not!"

"Because it sure sounds like it!"

"No, my Lord!"

"Crucio!"

Screams echoed against the hard, stone walls, but no one heard.

"My Lord..."

"You let all those Mudbloods and half-bloods escape! You helped them to the hospital!"

"But, my Lord, we killed so many..."

"And so many more lived! And you yourself killed a pureblood Slytherin!"

"My Lord, forgive me! I did not mean to!"

"Did you think I would not find out?"

"My Lord, please!"

"Crucio!"

More screams echoed and went unheard...

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Devon was released almost immediately, then Katie a week later. Sirius, however, faked his condition until Jaclyn, who was immobilized from the waist down for almost the whole summer, was able to move around without assistance. She thought it was rather sweet of him.

She stretched and swung her legs out of the bed, standing up slowly. Good, she hadn't fallen in two weeks, to the date. Sirius was still asleep, curled up in his bed. To annoy him, she did what she'd done every morning since she'd been able to get up without his help: she jumped onto his bed and bounced it up and down until he woke. He jerked straight upwards and stared around in confusion until he remembered where he was and who was disturbing his peaceful rest. Then he landed back onto the pillows with a sigh of annoyance.

"Do you have to do that _every_ day?"

"Of course!"

"You're evil."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he poked her in the side, making her jump and squeak. "Hey! That's evil!" She punched his stomach and he laughed.

"That didn't hurt."

"It wasn't supposed to," she lied.

He caught her bluff. "Liar, liar."

She glared at him, but her eyes sparkled with laughter. "Shut up."

"Liar, liar, liar."

"Shut up!"

"Liar!"

She punched him again and smirked; this time it did hurt. "Ha!"

"You're evil."

"I'm leaving today."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and you're still too sick to come with me." She gave him an evil grin.

"I'm a fast healer. I'll be out tomorrow."

"It's a miracle!" she exclaimed, laughing.

He laughed his bark-like laugh, too. "Do you still hate me?"

She didn't waste a second. "Of course I do!"

"How kind."

"I know."

"Even after I tried to protect you?"

"Why _did_ you try to protect me?" she asked, suddenly serious.

He sat up. "Because I couldn't stand to see you get hurt." His face had lost all traces of laughter he looked at her with a gaze so intense that she had to turn her head away.

"I got hurt anyway," she muttered quietly.

"Ah, yes, but I was unconscious at the time and, therefore, unable to see it."

She looked at him, confused. Was he teasing her? By the look on his face, he was completely serious. He really loved her. Madame Marjorie's words came rushing back to her. She needed to choose her _own_ life and be happy on her _own_ terms. That happiness would only come with him in her life. He needed to know that. She slid closer to him and leaned in. Her lips met his and he jumped back in surprise.

"Wait, _you're_ kissing _me_?

She smiled slyly and nodded. "You're complaining?" He shook his head furiously. "Don't tell Lily."

"Of course not. I wish to live, remember?"

She kissed him again, and this time he didn't pull away.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A/N: Sadness, this time, but some happiness too.

kamers: HUH HUH HUH!!!! Haha. But yeah. Dark is fun. Hehe. And on that note, I've been writing "stories" since I was 4, according to my mom. She even has the old story. Lol.

Nicoley117: YAY!!! STICKERS!!!! Wait… +shivers+ My horrible Spanish teacher last year gave out stickers and she was……..EVIL. She coulda been a Death Eater. Lol. Evil bitch. ANYWAY. Hehe. I know you were the biggest nag—I mean…FAN! Yeah, that's right. Fan. Lol. You were the biggest _fan_ of Jaclyn/Sirius so far, so I hope you're happy with recent developments. Hehe. I can't guarantee what happens with them of the course of the next two "years" since I don't have anything written past chap. 15, but this at least should be happiness to you.

dragonfly: Here ya go, Dev! This girl, everybody, is the inspiration for the Devon Heck you meet get to know above. Just FYI.

Folk: Says someone who invented an OC herself. Lol. Nah, I totally understand the feeling. I think I know what I'm going to do with that first chapter blank space. And…what else did you write? Hold on… Okay! Nah, not weird. My little ten-year-old bro has fancied so many girls in just a few years. It's so cute! And he's not even eleven yet.

dolly: Well, thank you mucho for the read and the review. Very appreciated. I need them to keep up motivation.

-Carp


	15. Lado Oscuro de la Luna

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN:** _Lado Oscuro de la Luna_

((A/N: This is Katie's POV, if you don't get that from the clues.))

I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom, my green covers wrapped around me, and watched the light of the flames from my personal fireplace dance across it, replaying the incident at Diagon Alley over and over again in my mind. I could still hear the Death Eaters' cold, evil laughter ringing in my ears as I was tossed around like rag doll. Just thinking about it sent chills up my spine. I remembered seeing a green light – a flash of it. Had it been what killed Lauren? It very well may have been, but I passed out a second later. I replayed the image of the Death Eaters once again, trying to figure out who they were. I hated them and I wanted revenge.

Almost a month had passed since my baby sister was buried in the green fields of Ireland. My family had been a wreck ever since. It was so painful; we felt like a very important piece of us was missing, like a part of our heart had been sawed off. I hadn't really left the house since the funeral. In fact, I hadn't really left my room more than a few times. Jaclyn's parents didn't know about the attack so she spent the rest of the summer at my house as planned.

The Marauders had visited a few times, but they quickly realized that I wanted to be alone. I think I confused them. I was always there for them, giving _them_ advice and telling _them_ how to deal with things. All of them stopped coming except for Remus, who continued to visit me each day, and occasionally at night, if the moon permitted it. We would lie next to one another in my bed and talk. I would sometimes cry, but only he would ever see me do that.

Danielle took the departure of her twin horribly – worse than even our mother did. She hadn't said a word since she spoke at the funeral. Through a version of Twenty Questions, I got it out of her that she'd seen Lauren die, but after that she went running into her room, sobbing. At the funeral, she'd surprised us all and hadn't shed a single tear. Instead, she spoke clearly and steadily, as though giving a weather report. But we knew. I would sometimes hear her crying in the room next to mine late at night. Brandon and I would find ourselves in there some nights trying to comfort her, but it usually only made things worse. I often left her room with tears filling my bright green eyes. Those were the nights when I stole some Floo powder from Jaclyn or my parents and went to Remus's house.

I had two nights left of summer until I had to leave my depression behind and return to Hogwarts. Usually by this time, my trunk would be packed and I would be making plans with the guys to go to Diagon Alley, but this summer was the total opposite.

I finally tore my eyes from the ceiling and turned towards the fire's crackling flames. At the same time, I took a pillow with me to hug tight. I glanced at my clock, only to find that it was one forty-seven in the morning. Remus never came this late, so I slowly pulled the covers back and climbed out of my warm bed. I made my way to the fireplace, stepping around the piles of dirty robes lying about on the floor. I kneeled down onto the hearth, and turned the silver key until there were hardly any embers remaining at all. Suddenly, in a blink of the eye, a large shape appeared in the fireplace and flew out, landing on me, and I was forced backward onto the carpet. Focusing my blurry eyes, I identified my intruder as a grinning Remus.

"RE-!" I began to shout, but before I could even finish his name, he had lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine.

"Shush before you wake the whole house up," he muttered as he pulled away.

"What took you so long?" I demanded, putting out the flames before climbing back into my bed.

He climbed in behind me, holding me in the dark. "My dad was reading in front of the fire. I waited up, but he never went to bed. Finally, I threw his cat and sent it hissing and meowing right into his crotch, claws out. Needless to say, he got up and went screaming into his bedroom."

I laughed softly, in spite of myself. He always had some way of turning my frown – well, not quite upside down, but it was definitely a bit straighter. "Did he know it was your fault?" I asked.

"No, I hid behind the sofa. Once he was out of sight, though, I wasted no time in getting here."

We were silent for a while, just listening to our own thoughts and reveling in each other's company. My back molded into Remus's chest, our bodies pressed closely together as though becoming one. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat and the deep, periodic rising and falling of his chest hypnotized me. However, my freed thoughts, no matter how hard I tried to stop them, kept wandering back to Lauren's death. If only I'd been stronger… I could have stopped them! What if it had been me instead of her? Would they have cried like this? Would the two Slytherins cry over the loss of a meddlesome half-blood Gryffindor? Would Danielle speak so fearlessly at my funeral? Would she speak at my funeral at all? Would I even _have_ a funeral? Would anyone care? Would-?

"You're crying again."

I jumped. I had almost forgotten he was there. I'd almost forgotten that _I_ was there. But what he said was true; when I put a hand to my cheek, it was wet.

"I didn't notice," I whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"What's it like to be a werewolf?" I asked, amazed that I'd dared. I'd never even thought of asking that, knowing he could get rather touchy on the subject. _Eye-for-an-eye_, I thought, just as suddenly and bluntly as the question. Part of me said that it was only fair for him to answer the question. He'd seen me with all my barriers down, crying. He'd snuck into my room in the middle of the night and a few times we'd silently kissed, doing our best to wake no one. Hell, he'd even fallen asleep in my bed a few times – something that greatly amused Jaclyn who came in every morning to get dressed. Another part of me said that it was too personal and wanted to snatch it back, but I would not snatch it back. I wanted to know.

I could feel his surprise and discomfort in the way he tensed up behind me. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know…"

"Well … I – What exactly do you want to know?"

"You'll tell me?" My surprise must have shown in my voice because he pulled me even closer to him, combing my hair from my face and pressing a kiss to my damp cheek.

"Yes."

"Well, um, I don't know… What's it – What's it like to, er, transform? Does it … hurt?"

"A … little. It's very uncomfortable and Sirius says- nevermind."

"What?"

"Nothing. Nevermind."

"Please?"

"No. It's nothing."

"You said you'd tell me!"

"This doesn't have to do with my being a werewolf."

I was hooked now. What had he been about to say? "Oh, c'mon! You can't just say something and then not tell me!" Jaclyn and Tyler enjoyed doing just that, just to annoy me.

"It's nothing, Katie!"

I stopped. He never used that tone with me. Slowly, I pushed my question aside, forcing myself to drop the issue. "So… What else?"

He tried to conceal his small sigh of relief, but I could feel it as we were pressed up so close to each other. "Well, I feel as if I've blacked out a few minutes into the transformation. … When I'm not in my second form, I can still feel the other me waiting for the full moon, stirring around inside. It's like a demon, waiting to take over my body once again. It hurts sometimes, even when the full moon is days away, and it scares me. I sometimes take days off of classes so I can get away from everyone – especially you."

"Me?" I was confused. Why would he want to get away from me? I had completely forgotten the reason for his visit and my thoughts were focused only on what he was saying.

"Yes, you especially. The Marauders, our classmates, and the teachers are all important, but you more than anyone else. I get violent and mean."

"Like PMSing."

A laugh escaped his throat. "I never really thought of it like that, but, yes, I guess it is. The week leading up to full moon is the worst. I get pale, tired, and weaker. All the strength is drained from every fiber of my being, but it doesn't disappear. I wish it was that simple, but it's not. It gathers in the demon. I can feel my second form getting ready to emerge. Sometimes, I lose control. I've gotten into physical fights with James and Sirius, but they know it's not my fault and they know I'm too weak to do damage, so they restrain me with as little force as they can until I'm back to normal again. Typical charms and hexes don't work on me when my demon has control." He sighed, lifting his hand away from my stomach to rub his temples.

"You don't have to continue," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"I know what you mean about having a demon."

"How? How could _you_ possibly know?" he snapped.

I froze at his tone. That was the second time that night he'd snapped at me. "Well, I…"

"Sorry. I'm getting ready for a full moon. I'll have two days of school before taking my leave. But … _how_?"

"Because I've lost my sister, Remus. That's how. Everyday, I struggle with my demon, trying not to let it take my own life too. I'm trying not to just give in to the pain, and if it weren't for the sorrow it would bring to you, my family, the Girls, and the Marauders, I would probably just give up right now. I would give in to my demon."

He pulled me, if it were possible, even closer to him. He kissed the soft skin below me ear and combed a hand through my hair. "Me?"

I smiled. "Yes, even you."

"_Even_ me? What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, feigning hurt as he continued to comb through my long hair with his fingers.

I laughed. "Well- Ow!" His hand had caught on a small tangle in my hair. "Careful!"

It was his turn to laugh. "Sorry!" He managed to get through the tangled lock without too much more discomfort to my head. "There. Any more questions?"

"Well … Do you remember anything from your transformations? After you've finished changing, I mean?"

"Occasional views of the shack from the inside, but like I said, my demon has complete control of me when I'm in full werewolf form." I tried to hold back a large yawn, but part of it escaped. He sat up. "I should go. I'll let you sleep."

"No, don't go."

"Are you sure?"

"Please?"

"Fine. Sleep tight." He turned my face toward his and lightly his lips touched mine. He continued combing his fingers through my hair and I fell asleep within minutes. When I woke in the morning, he was gone.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A/N: Why do I plan for a chapter and then end up not doing it? I had planned for them to go to Diagon Alley again, but I ended up devoting a whole chapter to Katie's POV. Well, all's well that ends well. And that ended rather well, I if do say so myself. (Which I do.) By the way, the title is Spanish. I would tell you what it means, but I told Jessika she'd have to figure it out on her own. If you guess it, put your guess in the review that I just _know_ you'll send, because you love me. Oh, AND this is the last chapter I did last time, so I'll need reviews and nagging to make me keep coming up with new stuff from now on.

kamers: Don't worry, hehe. You'll get some time. Member that idea I had about…well, getting to know someone? I can't give more away. But you should pick up on that. Unless I only told Jess about it, but I think I told you. Anyway…

LandUnderWave: Well, I gave some clues at the very beginning of that segment, but it's for you guys to figure out on your own. Hehe.

Nicoley117: Haha. Ribbons are nice. Nah, you're not really a nag. Not compared to Devon. +whistles innocently+ No, but you're really not. I was kidding.

dragonfly: great… Yes, you ARE my nag, Dev. Here… Now I'll need you to nag, since the rest are from scratch.

-Carp


	16. I Solemnly Swear I am up to no Good

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:** _I Solemnly Swear I am up to no Good_

Jaclyn woke with a start that morning from some nightmare about werewolves; one had been inches from tasting her flesh when she'd awakened. The details were slipping away like water through a strainer, but she could remember the werewolves, in her mind the foulest creatures on the planet. They walked the earth disguised as a human, but once a month, twice in the case of a blue moon, they showed their true colors – horrible, bloodthirsty monsters.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. Curiosity creeping up inside of her, she tiptoed down the hallway to Tiffany's room, only to spy the girl lying in Remus's arms. She shook her head slowly, grinning, and crept down the hall back to her temporary bedroom. Spotting a green bottle next to her bed, she grabbed it and tiptoed back past Danielle's room to Tiffany's and went to the bedside. She tapped Remus lightly on the shoulder and he opened her eyes. Thank Merlin he didn't jump, unlike her father would have done. Each night that he would fall asleep on the sofa before dinner, she and her brother would fight over who got to wake him. They loved seeing him jump a foot and fall off the couch.

If Remus were to jump, Tiffany would wake up, and if Tiffany were to wake up, she'd never get to sleep again.

Remus rubbed his blurry eyes and slowly slid his arms out from around Tiffany. "Hey, Carter," he whispered, and they stepped into the hall together.

"Hey, Lupin," she muttered. "I've got some Floo Powder for you."

"Thanks." He took a pinch of the powder from the green bottle she held out for him.

"Was she crying again?"

A look of surprise appeared on his face.

"I'm not stupid, Lupin. I know you come over here everyday and most nights so she can cry into your shoulder. I saw her cry once in the hospital. So, was she crying?"

"A … little. We mostly just talked about**…** stuff."

"Like what?"

"N-Nothing much… Just stuff…" He changed the subject quickly. "Why are you up?"

"Nightmares about werewolves." She shivered. "Horrible creatures…"

"Yeah… I'll go now, okay?" He disappeared into the flames with such abruptness that her jaw dropped and she stared at the empty space, occupied only seconds earlier by Remus. What'd she say?

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

"Wake up, Tiffy!" a voice said, startling the girl from her peaceful slumber. She glanced at the spot next to her. Remus was gone. She moved her eyes to her personal bathroom where the blurry shape of Jaclyn stood before the mirror.

"Stunning," the mirror said. "Robes suit you, dear."

Robes? Jaclyn always wore Muggle clothes unless they were going into a section of wizarding Britain. Great… That could never be good. Well, _she_ definitely wasn't going. She rubbed her eyes and the blur of the room came into focus; Jaclyn had half of her curly hair up and was dressed in turquoise robes. Turning, she saw that Tiffany was awake.

"Get up! We're going to Diagon Alley for school stuff; your mom and Tony have agreed to help me force you, Danielle, and your brothers if need be. Don't argue, just get ready. The boys will be arriving soon and we don't need you holding us up."

"But…"

"Yes, I know. Tough love, Miss Bly." She smirked. Only Jessika called Tiffany that because Tiffany hated it and Jessika hated Tiffany – the dislike had always been mutual.

"Don't call me that," Tiffany growled, pulling the covers over her head.

Jaclyn flipped the covers back and pulled them all the way off the bed, leaving Tiffany with nothing to hide under. She sat up slowly and groaned. "It works, though," Jaclyn said with an evil grin.

"Do I _really_ have to come?"

"Yes. Get ready. Or else I'll tell your mum who slept in your bed last night."

"That's not fair!" she protested, glaring at her friend.

Jaclyn flashed another evil grin. "Get ready, Miss Bly!" Her robes swished as she glided from the room and shut the door.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jaclyn couldn't help but feel a stab of regret for dragging Tiffany, Brandon, and Tyler back to Diagon Alley. Danielle had refused to come and not even her dad could make her. Tyler had followed his mum sulkily down the street to get measured for new robes, as he was starting his first year at Hogwarts that year.

"So…" Sirius said for about the millionth time that day as they stood in front of Gringotts with their money. "So…"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

It didn't matter who had told him to shut up, only that it was said, as it was on the minds of all in the group. They were silent again. Sirius sighed loudly.

"So…" He dodged James's fist as it soared towards his head. "What? I just want to know where we're going to go, or are we going to stand outside the bank all afternoon?"

"Take a picture people!" James shouted, receiving strange looks from witches and wizards as they passed. "Write this in the history books! Sirius Black actually has a point!" This time, James ducked Sirius's fist; he lowered his voice to a normal level. "Well, you usually are pretty pointless. Anyway, I vote for Quality Quidditch Supplies."

"_Why_ am I not surprised?" intoned Tiffany cheerlessly. Jaclyn gave her a 'lighten-up' look and Tiffany scowled back.

"Oh, c'mon, Bly," James pleaded. "You're House Keeper. You've _gotta_ want to go."

"Yes, but you see, Prongs, I'm not obsessed with Quidditch."

"You're obsessed with _me_," Remus quipped cheerfully.

Tiffany couldn't hold back her grin. "Don't you wish?"

Remus feigned a melodramatic gasp. "That hurt, Bly! Have you been taking lessons from Carty?"

"Don't call me Carty," was accompanied by a painless meeting of Carter fist and Lupin shoulder.

"That didn't hurt," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Want it to?" she threatened.

James, however, was going on and on about how Quidditch was far more than an obsession, not seeming to care whether or not anyone except a wide-eyed Peter was listening. "…_All_ of the different moves and strategies! And there's _so_ _much_ to buy! So many teams! The Cannons are the best, of course. If only I could-"

"Prongs! Wormtail!" Sirius shouted.

James snapped back to Earth and looked around. The group had left the two boys and was making its way toward Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. James and Peter sprinted up to them, but they didn't go too far after that because a pretty girl with long, shiny black hair and big brown eyes ran up to them calling, "Jaclyn! Tiffany!"

"Afternoon, Jessika," drawled Tiffany in annoyance.

"Hey, Jess!" came Jaclyn's far more welcoming greeting. "When did you get back?"

"Last week!" She looked at the group of boys standing behind her two friends and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What are _they_ doing here?"

"They're my friends," Jaclyn stated.

Jessika's mouth fell open in shock. "_Your_ friends?"

Tiffany had an amused look on her face and was chuckling very softly to herself. "Yes, _my_ friends," Jaclyn replied forcibly. "This is Sirius Black, James Potter…" She introduced each one to Jessika as if the girl had never met them before. Jessika blushed as Jaclyn came to Brandon and stopped her.

"Oh, shut up, Carter," she snapped. "Er, hello, Brandon." She grabbed Jaclyn and Tiffany's wrists and dragged them a few feet away. "You boys go on in! We just need to talk for a few minutes!" The girls looked back at the group of boys and shrugged, so they turned and went inside, watching through the window.

"Look, I can be friends with whomever-" Jaclyn began.

"Oh, I know you can. That's not what I want to talk about. Over the summer, I met this boy… And he isn't just any boy. He's Casey March."

"The Hufflepuff?" Jaclyn asked.

"Yes. See, at first I thought he went to one of the local schools. There are two where my Granpi lives. But he had a British accent. When I asked him, he said he was a Hufflepuff here." She sighed. "I can't wait for tomorrow."

Jaclyn smiled, but Tiffany looked rather bored and annoyed. "What, so you can sneak him into a broom cupboard, have a little shag, and move back onto my brother?"

Jessika looked scandalized. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"C'mon! The whole school knows you as the 'Gryffinwhore Extraordinaire.' Even the Slytherins want a piece of-"

A stinging slap cut her off. "Bitch!" Jessika screamed and turned and pushed roughly past Tiffany, but the blond girl didn't let her go far. She grabbed a fistful of the long black hair and pulled her sharply back. Watching through the window, the boys in the parlor saw what was happening and sent chairs flying as they scurried out to break it up. As Sirius drew Jaclyn a safe distance away, Brandon launched himself onto Jessika and managed to pull her away, but it took the efforts of Peter, James, and Remus to subdue Tiffany. They imagined it was all the hate and anger she had for the Death Eaters resurfacing.

"Let go of me!" she snarled fiercely, eyes afire. She spun around and started beating on Remus, clawing at his eyes, and tearing at his clothing and hair. At first he seemed to be losing, but then, with a fearful glance at Sirius, James, and Peter, he gave a strangely inhuman cry, much like growling roar, and forced her into the hard wall of the parlor, though he did manage to put his hand in the way of her head to cushion the blow. He released her and was calm, but he was breathing deeply and sweat was on his brow. He stepped back and all eyes were on him, wide and shocked. "Remus…"

Looking around at the group nervously, he said, "I've gotta – I've gotta go."

"Remus, it's okay! I understand!"

"Goodbye, Tiffany. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Remus!"

He turned away with pain in his eyes and sprinted away, obviously anxious to get out of the Alley, considering the fact that he knocked three women over in his hurry. Tiffany spun around to slap Jessika again, but instead her hand made contact with Brandon's lip, drawing blood.

"What the hell, Brandon!" she fumed, staring at him where he stood screening Jessika from view.

"Leave her alone!" he yelled back, wiping the warm, red liquid from his chin.

"Don't protect her, Brandon! The slut only wants a quick shag in a broom closet with you, and that's it! Once she's done with Casey March, of course."

She sprinted after Remus, knocking over the same three women he had.

"Great Merlin!" Jaclyn exclaimed in exasperation, tearing herself away from Sirius's protective grip and running after them, upsetting three very ruffled women for the third time that day. Jessika huffed out of sight, wiping the blood from her face and hair, and Brandon, James, Sirius, and Peter were left to do their own thing. To the surprise of none, James walked into Quality Quidditch Supplies and joined the crowd of boys goggling at the new Silver Arrow, if a little bit less enthusiastic than before.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

They all clambered onto the train the next day, dragging their luggage and bumping into each other.

"Ouch, Wormtail, that's my foot!"

"That wasn't me! That was Moony!"

"It wasn't me! There's two people between us."

Sirius's slightly annoyed but still quite amused voice rose above them all. "STOP!"

They did, causing most of the teenagers to fall down.

"Okay," Peter groaned, pushing Jaclyn's foot out of his face. "Let's not do that again, huh, Sirius?"

He ignored him and raised his wand. "Everyone duck!" he said loudly, an unnecessary thing to say as everyone but him was sprawled on the floor of the aisle. He Banished all six trunks and sent them into an empty compartment five doors down. James was the first to stand and pulled Remus up, who in turn grabbed Tiffany's hand and tugged. Sirius helped Jaclyn, and Peter righted himself on his own. Sirius and James, at the front of the huddle, met eyes and grinned mischievously. The others glanced around nervously and backed away slowly.

"Race you," James challenged.

"You're on!"

They dashed away, leaving the others to roll their eyes and follow after them at their own pace. Sirius made it to the compartment first, but only because a girl stepped out of another one on the way and stopped right in front of James, causing him to sprint headlong into her and go crashing down, taking her with him. It was their Seeker, Devon. Sirius was turning red, and then purple, from laughter and the others weren't doing much better. Even Tiffany and Remus were joining in, the first time either of them had really laughed in a long, long time. Devon was even giggling a little, though James had turned an interesting shade of bright red from embarrassment. He struggled to his feet and then helped her up, but it was useless for a moment later he tripped on his own disheveled robes and brought them back down again. Sirius and Peter fell to the ground with laughter this time, rolling around and clutching their sides. James jumped up, stepped into the compartment and shut the door behind him in annoyance.

"Well," Remus began after he had managed to stop laughing. "As those two-" he gestured to Sirius and Peter who had tears leaking from their eyes "-are, erm, incapacitated, I'll apologize for James and help you up…again…" He looked like he was holding back another fit of laughter, which in turn fueled the others. When he had it under control, he reached down and lifted her up. ((A/N: I've spent this whole time eating Pixy Stix. Those who've never had them are deprived of the legal high. Lol. GET PIXY STIX. Well, here goes my last one out of forty. Lol. Okay, I'll get back to the story now.)) He took another look at them and said, "Well, I must get going to the Prefects car. Useless, but I have to. Later, then." He was gone in a swish of robes.

"Glad I'm not a Prefect," Tiffany said, finally in control of her own laughter.

Devon ducked back into her own compartment.

A now calm Jaclyn replied, "Yeah, me too, 'cause you being a prefect would mean…" She dug in her bag and pulled out a piece to paper with what seemed to be a list of something on it. "…Pigs would fly, fish would sing, Honeydukes would sell bad chocolate, Sirius and James would stop being such jackasses-"

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed, snatching the list away.

"Stopped laughing, have you?" she returned, grabbing the list back before he could read it. "Relax. Lily added that one."

"You have a list? Give it here!" Tiffany demanded, pulling it away from her and scanning it. "I could become a Prefect if I want- Hey! This is our school list!" After a second, the four, Peter included, burst out in more laughter.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

With about five minutes left until Hogwarts, Remus entered their realm of disquiet, looking annoyed. Tiffany, reading a magazine and using a bag to save Remus's place next to her; Jaclyn, who was laying down taking up half a seat and resting her head on Sirius's lap; Sirius, resident pillow; and James and Peter, both absorbed in a game of chess in which Peter was barely winning; all looked up and gave him a questioning look. James was the first to look back down, only seconds later, and quickly made a move, putting himself back into first place. This drew Peter's attention and they were absorbed once more.

"That was totally and completely pointless," Remus said, sitting next to Tiffany. "The Heads took forever to come in, gave us slips of paper with the passwords, told us what Dumbledore tells everybody each year and left."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius responded lazily. "What are we talking about?"

Remus ignored him. "But we 'good little Prefects,' as the Head Boy put it, needed to run along back to our little compartments again. It's that Casey March fellow. I hate him!"

"I DON'T GET IT!" James shouted suddenly, jumping up and sending the chess board and pieces flying.

"But you were winning!" Peter exclaimed.

"What? Oh yeah, the game. Whatever." He plopped back down, pushing Jaclyn's feet out of the way.

"What don't you get?" Remus asked curiously.

"WHY?"

"Why what?" said Peter this time.

"_Why_ won't she go out with me? Sirius got _you_!" He looked straight at Jaclyn, whose head was still in her boyfriend's lap as she attempted to doze for the last few minutes.

She rolled her eyes, giving up on sleep and raising herself to a sitting position. "That's because I'm not as stubborn as Lily. Well, actually, yeah I am. But I've liked Sirius since second year. I just stopped denying the truth. Of course, Lily can never find out I'm dating him. Not yet, at least. Point is this: she _hates_ you, James. Like, deep down, literal meaning of hate-your-guts kind of thing. Unless you have a major attitude turn around, you're, well, screwed." She laughed a little at the end.

"And that's the nice way to say it," Tiffany said, grinning. "Basically, pop your inflated head, don't put pressure on her to go out with you - just become her friend - and, for Merlin's sake, quit with the Snape thing!"

Both Sirius and James were fixing her with horrified stares. Jaclyn elbowed Sirius lightly and he looked at her, looking disappointed. "Fine… If he starts it though…"

"By all means! If he starts it, kill the guy for all I care!" Jaclyn said with a trace of laughter in her voice. "I mean, c'mon! I was the one at the library when you apologized."

"Really? I thought that was why you winked at me…"

"Merlin, you're thick," she sighed, hanging her head.

Tiffany picked up where Jaclyn had left off. "That's why she hates you guys so much. Be … average. I know it's hard, but… I don't know how to put it exactly. Nothing I've ever said has made an impact yet. Er…" She searched around for something to help her and her head fell on her boyfriend's prefect badge, resting proudly upon his breast. She grinned evilly and snapped her head back to James. Looking straight into his eyes with her clear blue ones she said, every word drawn out and feeling like a whole paragraph, "Become Head Boy."

Remus fell off the seat. Sirius nearly fainted. Peter did faint. James looked horrorstruck. All was silent.

"I-I can't do that."

"You can and you will or you'll never get Lily. She's Prefect with Moony. She's going to become Head Girl. You pull this off, she'll be forced to spend nights on patrol with you, she'll see how you've changed, and she'll fall in love. So, Head Boy, leave Snape alone-" James flinched, but nodded "-be kind, become a friend, don't pressure her to go out with you. In fact, don't even ask her. Oh, and, once you've caught her attention – I'll let you know – you'll get a girlfriend."

This time, both Remus _and_ Sirius fell off the seats.

"A girlfriend? Why?"

"You have to make her jealous. It'll be the only way."

"Who? Should I start now?"

"Yes, now. It'll take you forever."

"But who?"

"Seeker Devon Heck," Jaclyn's voice said.

Sirius and Remus were sniggering, but James looked thoughtful and nodded. "You know what? I think I will."

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Okay, so I dug through my old emails and found this sent back to me from my old beta reader. It had her edits on it, so I followed them and ta-dah! I remember that I hated Chapter 17, but I found that from her too. I'll prolly just completely rewrite it, which could take time. So this extra-huge one was your gift, to tide you over til I can do 17.

LandUnderWave: Hmm… Two, I think. Maybe it was three. I dunno. Yeah, I'm prolly gonna go between the girls' (and maybe guys') POVs more often. It's fun.

kamers: Yeah, yeah. Get over it. Haha. You can still do it, you know. Just don't copy me. Hehe.

Nicoley117: Yeah, that was pretty long. Lol. Yes, you got the title right. "Dark Side of the Moon" is the English title of 15. And…for such a long review, there's not much I can reply to. Lol. Thanks for reviewing, then.

-Carp


	17. What it Means to be a Gryffindor

Disclaimer: The Sorting Hat song is NOT mine. I found it a long time ago on here and it said you could use it if you gave credit. Unfortunately, I have completely lost whose it was, so I cannot do that, but I swear it ain't mine.

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:** _What it Means to be a Gryffindor_

Jaclyn sat between Katie and an open seat at the Sorting Ceremony that night, waiting impatiently for it to be over so she could eat. The boys sat, as usual, _near_ them, but not _with_ them. The only differences this year were that Sirius kept shooting Jaclyn grins and staring at her until Remus made him stop, James wasn't bugging Lily, and Katie and Jessika – well, actually, they had never talked to each other much so their silence toward each other was nothing unusual. Another change was that everyone in their groups was careful not to mention around Katie that the hangings in the Great Hall were black.

Luckily, they soon had something else to focus on. Professor McGonagall led a new group of frightened first years. Jaclyn yawned and put her head down, but Katie and Jamie remained alert and watching. They both had brothers coming to Hogwarts that year. The hat on the stool opened its brim and began to sing.

"Greetings good I give to you;

A sorting hat am I.

I'll sort you into the right House,

And if I am wrong I'll die.

Let's take a look into your mind,

Let's see where you should go.

And I will take what I will find

And place you to or fro.

Firm Slytherin-I knew him well-

A cunning man was he.

He chose those sly and great of power,

And blood of purity.

Young Gryffindor-so chivalrous!-

Loved those who'd hold a sword

And those few souls-so brave were they-

Would not fear Hell's gates to ford.

To Hufflepuff the loyal went,

Who toiled all the day.

And justice was their battle cry-

They fought for justice all the way!

Wise beyond her years was Ravenclaw,

who sought to learn and know.

The curious and quick of wit

Shall in her household always grow.

Which house shall be your destiny?

I'll bet you want the truth!

I'll sit upon your heads and then

The answers will run loose!"

"Adams, Jared," was the first to be called and he joined the Gryffindors. Jaclyn didn't bother to clap or cheer. She was hungry and tired. Avery, Megan was next and went to Slytherin. Jaclyn closed her eyes. Katie was tense and nervous beside her.

"Butcher, Sarah." The hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Chapman, Craig." The hat screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Many more names were called. Jaclyn's stomach demanded food. She nearly missed the next name over its growling.

"Carter, Jonathon."

It took a second to hit her. When it did, it was like a bullet train. She sat bolt upright and watched with wide eyes as a cute, little blonde boy climbed with shaky legs to the stool and put the hat on over his ears and eyes. After what seemed like ages but was scarcely more than a few minutes, the hat's brim opened. Jaclyn clenched her fists tightly, waiting for the moment.

"Better be… GRYFFINDOR!"

She joined the screaming Gryffindors in their clapping and cheering as Jon ran down, straight to her. When he got to her, she caught him in her arms as they cheered. When the noise died down again and the next person was sorted, the brother took the seat next to his sister.

"Fregien, Mikey" joined the ranks of Ravenclaws a few minutes later. Eventually, "Bly, Tyler" was sorted into Hufflepuff, to Katie's obvious disappointment. After what seemed like hours, Andrew Yacavone was sorted into Slytherin and the hat was still.

Professor Dumbledore stood up and raised his hands. The hall slowly quieted.

"I know that many of you have noticed the change in decorations this year," he began, bringing the few remaining whispers to end. The silence was unnerving. "I also know that by now you will have heard of the seven deaths that occurred over the summer, six of which were students at this school. Please join me in a moment of silence for the remembrance of Zach Schmidt, Eva Crouch, Lauren Rooney, Arianne Nuka, Katherine Vitani, Natasha Kieran, and Jack Kieran."

For a few minutes that seemed like hours, the whole hall – even the Slytherins – bowed their heads as one in silent remembrance, and then raised them again. For another moment longer, Dumbledore was silent before smiling slowly.

"But I know everyone is eager to eat and get to bed. So tuck in!"

When everyone was full, the tired students climbed up to their dormitories.

"Hey, Jon?" Jaclyn asked before they headed up their separate stairs.

"Yeah?"

"When'd you get the letter?"

"A month ago."

"Why didn't you write?"

He grinned. "I wanted it to be a surprise!" He turned up the stairs and left Jaclyn to shake her head in amusement before climbing up to her own bed.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

The first Quidditch match of the season was Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Jaclyn, Katie, Devon, James, Oliver Wood, Angela Crouch, and a third-year girl named Cassandra Soto changed into their scarlet robes and mounted their brooms. ((A/N: Remember, Oliver Wood _SR_. This Oliver is the third Chaser.)) Jaclyn could feel the handle of her broom quivering with the same tension she shook with. Oliver glanced at Devon, their Seeker, with pride. She'd rarely been beaten and had been an asset since their second year when she'd joined the team.

"WELCOME, ONE AND ALL!" they heard Chris Jordan yell through the loudspeaker. "It's the first game of the season, Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor!"

The large doors began to open, letting in the sound of the cheering crowds.

"Ravenclaw!" Three-fourths of the crowd cheered. Gryffindor had been the best team for years and no one wanted to see them stay in the running this year. Seven blue-clad figures shot from the open doors at the other end of the stadium as Jordan announced them. "Miles! Rooney! Adams! Davis! Park! Adams! And Ai!"

The doors were wide open now and the Ravenclaw team had formed a half-circle in the middle of the field. "Gryffindor!" They kicked off, one-by-one. "Bly! Carter! Potter! Wood! Crouch! Soto! And Heck!"

They took their places and completed the circle. Katie faced Madeline Miles, Jaclyn faced Brandon Rooney, James faced Renee Adams, Oliver faced Mira Davis, Angela faced Ji-won Park, Cassandra faced Mitchell Adams, and Devon faced Kylie Brynn Ai. Golden-eyed Madam Hooch flew into the middle and after a tense three seconds, blew her whistle and tossed the Quaffle into the air. James caught it. The game had begun.

The Snitch and Bludgers had already been released. Devon and Kylie Brynn flew up and circled the stadium, searching for the tricky golden ball. Chris had already begun his running commentary.

"Gryffindor in possession! James Potter has the Quaffle. Oh! Look out, Potter! He drops the Quaffle down to Jaclyn Carter who immediately passes it to Oliver Wood. Potter, Wood, Potter, Carter, W- Brandon Rooney intercepts it!"

They'd been attempting to shake off the Ravenclaw Chasers, but Jaclyn threw it a moment too late. She immediately did a flip in the air and tore after him on her broom. He raised it above his head for the pass, and she reached out for it. Four inches, three … two … one…

"Rooney passes! Caught by Mira Davis! Spectacular pass!"

Jaclyn glared up at the announcer's box. Whose side was he on, anyway? He was a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake!

"She tosses it to Renee Adams. Rooney, Davis, Adams, Rooney, Adams, Rooney, Adams, Rooney, Davis. They're at the goalposts. Potter intercepts the shot! He passes. Rooney intercepts it! Ravenclaw scores!"

Jaclyn shot her gaze up at Katie, questioningly. Katie looked shocked, but Jaclyn didn't share the feeling. Katie had been on the opposite side of the goalposts from the goal Brandon and James were fighting in front of.

"That was wide open!" Oliver screamed at her before flying away to catch the Quaffle. Katie tossed the Quaffle and James caught it.

"The Quaffle's caught by Potter! Wood, Carter, Potter, Wood, Potter, Carter, Wood, Potter, Carter! Bludger attack! Ji-won Park sends a Bludger at her. Nasty hit! She drops the Quaffle!"

The iron ball collided painfully with her dominant right arm and the Quaffle fell out of her hands. Tears gathered in her eyes at the immense pain and she rubbed the spot forcefully. Angela and Cassandra both rushed to her, beating the Bludger away and sending it at Brandon who had caught the Quaffle. It missed him, but he dropped the Quaffle, which was quickly caught by James.

"Carter doesn't look too good. There she goes! She's recovered. Potter has the Quaffle. Carter, Wood, Potter. Potter scores!"

Unfortunately, the score was 130-20 in a matter of minutes. Wood called a timeout and they all gathered around Katie's goalposts, touching down on the soft grass.

"What the hell is wrong with you today, Katie!" he screamed. "You've let in thirteen goals so far!"

Devon touched down late and Oliver's gaze softened when it rested on her.

"Sorry, I was on the other side of the field, and all."

"It's fine," he said, deepening his voice a little and puffing out his chest. "You're doing a really great job, so far."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Look, this timeout is running out. What do you want, Oliver?"

"You, block more goals."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"You," he turned to Devon, "should work harder on that Snitch. Your focus seems to be dropping. B-But you're still doing wonderful so far! How about trying a Wronski Feint?"

She nodded, smiling sweetly. He turned red and looked away.

"Erm… Jaclyn, how's your arm?"

His concern surprised her. "Oh, um, fine, I guess. Just bruised."

"Good."

Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling for the timeout to end. They re-mounted their brooms and took off, Devon in search of the Snitch, and waiting for the opportune moment to perform the Feint.

"He likes her, you know," Jaclyn heard behind her.

She stopped and turned around, seeing Katie and James rising rather slowly.

"Are you sure?" James asked, worry apparent in his voice.

"Yeah. I know you can get pretty much any girl you want for any amount of time, but it looks like she could like him, too."

"Hey, Potter! Come on!" Jaclyn called.

He rode up beside her and she pretended not to look at him, as if she hated him.

"She's right," she muttered, barely moving her lips. "Lay on the ol' Potter charm as thick as you can."

He gave a nearly invisible nod and moved into position.

"And the game resumes, Ravenclaw in possession! Rooney passes to Adams, Adams to Davis, Rooney, Adams, Rooney, Adams with a long shot, Davis, Davis scores!"

140-20.

"The Keeper passes to Wood, Wood to Potter, Carter, Potter, Wood, Potter, Carter, Wood, Carter, Wood, Potter rushes to the goal. Watch out for-! He passes to-! Intercepted by Mira Davis! She passes to Renee Adams, Rooney, Davis … Adams … another score! The score stands at one-fifty to twenty, Ravenclaw!"

The sun's heat was down beating on them as they spread out and waited for Katie to release the Quaffle. Wood was looking even more furious, as if ready to explode. Jaclyn caught the Quaffle and all three Ravenclaw Chasers bore down on her. Her arm was still aching from before, but she tossed the ball away and James caught it. She dove down and all three Ravenclaw Chasers crashed into each other, causing Mira Davis to fall off her broom into a crumpled heap fifty feet below. James and Wood had already managed to score two goals in the Keeper's shock when Madam Hooch blew her whistle, rushing to help the girl. Devon and Kylie Brynn Ai were still circling above, waiting. Jaclyn, James, and Oliver hovered around their goalposts with Katie, their Beaters passing the Bludger among themselves and the Ravenclaw Beaters in a rather friendly way. Jaclyn swooped lower to hear the diagnosis on Mira.

"…Can you stand?"

"N-No."

"Please try for me?"

Mira managed to climb shakily to her legs, leaning heavily on her broom for support.

"There you go. Can you still fly? Can you play?"

The third-year Chaser shook her head, her face rather green. Jaclyn swooped up by her teammates to give Oliver the report.

"Well, that will help us, since our Keeping is so lousy." He was staring pointedly at Katie who just shrugged.

"Sorry." She didn't sound very sincere. "I'm just having an off-day."

The lack of one Chaser did not disable the Ravenclaw team much. They scored five more goals in the next ten minutes. But just to make sure, it seemed, Mitchell Adams launched a Bludger attack at Katie and it collided straight with the side of her head. She seemed to hang there in the air for a few moments, as if unsure what had happened or what to do next, before slowly sliding sideways off her broom. She fell unconscious to the ground and Madame Hooch carried her off the field. There was a look of anger and fierce determination on Oliver's face and Jaclyn knew what it meant.

War.

"A Keeper down could only make things worse for the Gryffindor team! Rooney has the Quaffle, Adams, Rooney, Adams, Mc- Devon Heck sees the Snitch!"

Devon had gone into a dive, Kylie Brynn right on her tail. The Ravenclaw team sat transfixed on their brooms. Wood just grinned, knowing she was planning a Feint. He gestured to Jaclyn and James for them to keep playing. When they put the Quaffle through the hoop once, the team woke up and resumed play. Devon, however, had reached the end of her dive and pulled up sharply, causing Kylie Brynn to slam into the ground.

"She was feinting! Brilliant! Wait!"

Devon held up a bright golden ball in her hand.

"She's caught the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins, two hundred to one-eighty!"

Everyone but the Gryffindors cheered.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A few weeks later, Hufflepuff humiliatingly defeated the Gryffindor team. Their new Seeker, Laura Loehnert, caught the Snitch three minutes into play.

Jon was walking with Jaclyn and Jamie once down to dinner.

"Jackie," he asked, "why are the other people always being so mean to me? The Slytherins?"

She sucked in her breath sharply. "What do they say?"

"They put hexes and jinxes on me and call me things like Mudblood. They tell me I don't belong here at Hogwarts and that I'm not a proper wizard."

"Jon," Jamie answered, "there are people who think people who come from Muggle or half-Muggle families don't deserve to learn magic." She pulled a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ out of her bag. The front cover featured a story on the latest Death Eater attack. "Those kinds of people do this."

He read a few lines of the story and his eyes widened. "The Killing Curse?"

"Avada Kedavra," Jaclyn told him. "One of the three Unforgivables."

"They do this to people just because of their blood? That's not fair!"

"No, you're right. It isn't fair, it isn't right, and it's not going to affect you, understand?"

He nodded.

"Who does it to you most often? Names?"

"Severus Snape, Bellatrix Black, Bartemius Crouch, and Regulus Black."

"Our favorite people," Jamie commented with a wry grin.

"You know them?"

"Unfortunately."

"According to Jess, Bellatrix is the one who accidentally got Katie and Remus Lupin together," Jaclyn added, mainly for Jamie's benefit, as she had been out of the loop all summer.

"What do I do when they start bugging me?" Jonathon asked.

"If they attack you, use _'Silencio'_ and _'Petrificus totalus.'_ Otherwise, just ignore them. Be brave. Hold your head high. That's what it means to be a Gryffindor."

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

A/N: I technically had the next chapter written, too, or at least part way written. I don't know if I still have it somewhere. I can look, dig through old files, but nothing is guaranteed. NOW, unless I find 18, THIS IS THE LAST PREWRITTEN CHAPTER. The rest WILL take longer. I promise. Lol. Not that you WANT to hear that.

kamers: Remind me to Avada Kedavra you…when I'm not so tired.

Nicoley117: Haha. Thanks. I'm too tired to concentrate on anything a letter longer than that. Well, here ya go! Sleep time.

-Carp


	18. Love Connections

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:** _Love Connections_

The dinner bell rang and Jessika broke off from the group of the girls, making her way up the stairs in the direction of the Astronomy tower. There was never any Astronomy classes on Tuesdays, so she had learned it would almost always be empty, especially during dinner. She climbed the stairs of the tower, expecting to be there first, but was accosted as soon as she stepped through the trapdoor. Lips pressed themselves against hers as she was forced up against the wall. After a few solid minutes of snogging, they came up for air.

"Bloody hell, Casey! You nearly scared me half to death!"

Casey March, Head Boy and Hufflepuff playboy, just grinned. "I beat you up here." Then he returned to what he had been doing, hands traveling over her body, removing clothing, as she did the same to him, slipping into a closet full of telescopes and empty star charts.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

The girls had made it almost to the entrance hall before Jamie noticed the absence of Jessika. She held out a hand to stop them.

"Wait, you guys! I think we lost Jess."

Katie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "So?"

Jaclyn shot her a look, and Katie shrugged, but said nothing else. "You know, I don't think she's been with us since we left Charms together and ditched the boys."

"Probably off shagging the Head Boy…" Katie muttered under her breath. The other three ignored her.

"You think we should go look for her?" Jamie asked.

"No. She probably wants to be left alone if she ditched us like that," Lily said sensibly, starting back towards the Great Hall.

"Oi! Girls! Wait!" It was James. He came running up to them, Sirius hurrying after him. Jaclyn smiled slightly when she caught sight of her boyfriend.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily demanded, rolling her eyes and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Hello, Lily," he said cheerily. "Katie, Jaclyn, Jamie, good afternoon." He grinned.

"What do you _want_, Potter?" Lily repeated, even more annoyed.

"A favor," he said simply, "for a friend."

"No."

"What?"

"The answer is no, like it's always been, Potter."

"What?" James looked confused for a second, until the realization hit him. "Oh! You thought- Oh, no! No, I wasn't going to ask you out!"

"You…weren't?" Lily was stunned. This would be a first. "But… Okay then, what do you want, Potter?" she attempted to sound casual, but the fact that James Potter had not stopped her in the hall to ask her for a kiss or a date seemed to have completely thrown off her rhythm.

Sirius piped up, "Well, the Hogsmeade weekend _is_ in three days and as only Prongs and Moony have dates so far-"

"Wait," interrupted Katie, "James has a date?"

Sirius nodded and James smiled very slightly, but Jaclyn thought she caught a hint of sadness in the smile. Lily's brow furrowed; she was staring very hard at him with a suspicious look in her eye.

James cleared his throat. "Er, yeah, with Devon Heck, the Seeker. I asked her this morning after lunch."

Katie looked thoughtful for a moment, glanced at Lily, then nodded with a small shrug. For some reason unknown to the others, Lily looked furious, her cheeks turning red and her hair seeming to crackle with electricity. "So what did you want to say? Tell us before we miss dinner."

"Well, Wormtail and I still need dates. Would any of you be able to assist?" He looked straight at Jamie, whose eyes widened the moment she realized what she was being asked to do.

"I am _not_ going to Hogsmeade with you, Sirius Black!"

He chuckled. "Well, of course you're not! _Carty's_ going to be my date, right, Carty?"

She did her best to scowl at him, but he was looking so damn cute just then. "Not if you call me that!"

"Sorry, Jaclyn." He did his best to look ashamed.

"Wait," interrupted Jamie. "Then why are you looking at me like that? What else could you…?" Then it dawned on her. A look of horror spread across her face. "NO! NO WAY!"

"Oh, c'mon, Jamie!" begged James. "Do it as a favor!"

"No! I am _not_ going out with Peter Pettigrew!"

"A Galleon says you will," Sirius said.

Jamie looked offended. "A _Galleon_? You'll have to do better than that, Black, if you want me to go out with the little freak you call a friend."

"Don't talk about Peter that way," James growled darkly. "Maybe he's a little odd, but he _is_ a Marauder, and no one talks about the Marauders that way. Not even you, Fregien."

Jamie looked taken aback. Lily had a curious expression on her face. Jaclyn and Katie looked almost proud. "Calm down, mate," Sirius said soothingly. "How about ten Galleons, then Jamie?"

It was obvious that she was considering it. "Maybe…but only if Jaclyn here will agree to go with _you_, Black. How about it, Jaclyn?"

The curly-haired blonde was startled by this recent development. How'd she get dragged into this, anyway? Her shocked look seemed enough, as Jamie smirked.

"I knew it. No deal then, Black. Sorry."

"Wait!" The girls turned sharply to look at Jaclyn. "I'll do it. I'll go to Hogsmeade with Sirius."

"What?" gasped Jamie, the horrified look returning to her face. "B-But…I…"

Sirius let out a whoop of triumph and James laughed, ruffling up his untidy black hair. "Excellent…" they both said in unison.

"No way!" Lily exclaimed, staring around at Jaclyn. "You can't go out with _him_, Jac! He's…Sirius Black! He's your arch enemy."

Sirius gave a snort of laughter at this and Jaclyn shot him a warning glare. "Hey, anything to see my cousin out with Peter Pettigrew. Now even you have to admit that that'll be great fun to watch."

Lily contemplated this for a moment, before seeming to relent. "Fine, whatever. I can't stop you."

Jamie was still spluttering. "I – can't!"

"We had a deal," Sirius replied smoothly. "Jaclyn dates me, you date Wormtail, and James pays you ten Galleons!"

"Hey!" exclaimed James, looking indignant.

"_Fine_. James _and_ _I_ pay you ten Galleons," Sirius corrected.

"Each," Jamie shot, glaring.

"But…! Oh, fine… Ten Galleons each. Merlin knows we have it…" Sirius shrugged, rolling his eyes.

"Um… We should go eat, guys," voiced Katie for the first time since the shock of James having a date. "Frankly, I'm famished and I want to get in there before dessert."

Lily, still unnerved, nodded. Jaclyn, looking rather pleased, and Jamie, looking as though she had a very unpleasant taste in her mouth, followed, with Katie bringing up the rear.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

It was Saturday, Hogsmeade weekend. Jaclyn met up with Sirius at the Three broomsticks. She was wearing a set of pale blue robes that accentuated the blue aspect of her eyes wonderfully, and her hair was pulled back and held in place by a clip in the shape of a butterfly, which actually flapped it wings occasionally. Lily sat with a few members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team flirting with their Seeker, a handsome seventh-year.

Sirius led Jaclyn over to a booth where James was seated next to Devon Heck, their own Seeker. Jaclyn planted herself across from Devon next to Sirius. He idly placed his arm across the back of her seat behind her shoulders, and she discreetly pressed her knee against his. The four of them chatted idly about different things for a while, until the conversation found its way to Quidditch. Sirius listened and joined in a few times, as the three team players discussed their favorite National teams, different tactics, and of course their last game in which they had narrowly scraped a win against Slytherin. They were last in line for the Quidditch Cup, but had an amazingly high amount of rubies in the Gryffindor hourglass this year, and could possibly scrape a House Cup win.

"If you two keep up your good behavior, that is," Jaclyn said, giving the boys significant looks.

Devon laughed. "You know, I don't think it's very fair to blame them for all the points we usually don't have."

"But it's true," James admitted, appearing quite ashamed. Jaclyn and Sirius knew better, though, and gave Devon a reassuring look as she made to comfort him.

"The Marauders know better than to go around saying they don't hurt the House points, Dev," Jaclyn said, laughing.

"The 'Marauders'?"

"That's their name for each other. James is Prongs, I think, and Sirius here is Padfoot. Right?" she gave her boyfriend a questioning look.

"Yup. And Remus is Moony and Peter is Wormtail. Speaking of which…" Sirius looked around the Three Broomsticks. "…Where is Wormtail? Shouldn't he and Jamie be here by now?"

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

"So, uh, do you want to go to the Three Broomsticks?" Peter asked me, still looking at me in disbelief, like he had been since we left Hogwarts.

I wasn't terribly pleased. If it hadn't been for my damn cousin, I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. To be honest, I felt a little bad for my behavior, but I wasn't a fan of being tricked – even if it was through the infamous Marauders. But, I did come out of the situation 20 Galleons richer, so I couldn't really complain. After all, Jaclyn had dressed my in my dark green robes that I knew looked amazing on me. Every girl knows that the right outfit can turn any frown upside down.

"That sounds fine," I replied, shrugging at him.

"Okay," Peter nodded, leading me past a few other shops and holding the door open for me. I pretended to mask my surprise by ducking in quickly, but I had been surprised by the gesture nonetheless.

"Speak of the devils!" Sirius announced as Peter and I entered the pub - thus making reason #17 this year I was going to castrate Sirius Black by the end of term. "Wormtail – Jamie, pull up a chair!"

"No, that's okay, really," I smirked, grabbing Peter's wrist and steering him away from my cousin and the others. "We'd rather be alone."

Peter glanced at me questioningly, but I ignored it. "Why don't we go sit over here?" I suggested, leading him to a table that was hidden by a large potted tree, so Sirius and the others couldn't see us.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked me, genuinely concerned.

"Just peachy," I forced a smile.

"Okay, good," Peter sighed, not noticing my obvious lie. "Madam Rosmerta, can we have two butterbeers, please?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Pettigrew," the young woman nodded, hurrying to behind the bar to prepare their drinks.

"So, Peter," I sighed, resigning to my fate, "where are you from again?"

"Dover," Peter answered me, leaning back in his chair and finally seeming to settle in. "Down in Kent, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," I nodded. "Do you live with your parents?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah, my mum and dad. I'm an only child."

"I have a younger brother," I sighed, bringing one of my knees up to my chest and leaning against it. "He's a first year this year – sorted into Ravenclaw. Probably the best thing that could have happened to him, to be honest."

"Why's that?" Peter asked with genuine curiosity as he gave Madam Rosmerta a few Galleons to cover the two butterbeers.

"Oh, you didn't have to - " I began.

"I know," Peter smiled, shrugging. "Don't worry about it. Anyways, why is it good that your brother was sorted into Ravenclaw?"

I couldn't believe it, but before I knew it two hours and three butterbeers later, I was laughing at a story Peter had shared with me about Sirius and James in their first year.

"You should have seen the look on their faces!" Peter laughed, obviously still very amused at the thought. "I mean, all that happened was a pear turning into a door knob – it's not like we hadn't seen weirder things!"

I couldn't help but continue laughing, although I was logging away the location of the kitchens in the back of my head for future use. These Marauders were handy, I tell you. "Peter, you're a lot different than I thought you were."

"How do you mean?" Peter asked. I was surprised at how clueless he was toward how he presented himself to the majority of the Hogwarts student body.

"Well, I don't know," I shrugged, not really wanting to make him feel bad on our first date. "I guess you just seem to hide in the shadow of Sirius and James a lot."

"To be honest, I don't have a lot of say in that," Peter shrugged, taking a swig of his butterbeer. "If it were up to me I wouldn't, of course, but they're my friends, so I let them have their fifteen minutes, if you know what I mean."

"That's not very fair of them, though," I couldn't help but sympathize.

Peter smiled wryly. "I know. But, like I said, they've become the only people I can rely on. I wouldn't want to lose them."

"You can rely on me," I said before I even knew what I was saying.

Peter only smiled, as though he wasn't sure I was kidding or not. After I realized that I had actually meant the statement, I leaned forward and put one of my hands on his own and smiled at him.

"I'm serious," I told him. "Peter, I want to be your friend."

"Really?" Peter asked, looking slightly dejected.

"Well, yeah," I nodded. "Peter, you're a wonderful guy. And, well, I'd like to be friends with you and, uhm, you know. Who knows what could happen."

"It worked for Jaclyn and Sirius," Peter shrugged, causing me to withdraw my hand quickly.

"What?" I demanded, my eyes wide.

"Oh, uh, that's right," Peter looked worried. "No one is supposed to know."

"Are they finally together?" I pressed. When Peter reluctantly nodded, I couldn't help but grin. "About bloody time! I've been reading in her diary since she was twelve about how in love she is with Sirius Black. Finally!"

Peter smiled at that and then noticed the time. "Bloody – we need to get going. I'm going to go to the bathroom first, though, if you don't mind?"

"That's fine," I agreed.

After he disappeared, I leaned over to see that James, Devon, Sirius, and Jaclyn were still sitting in their booth. I grabbed my bag and meandered over to them, pulling up a chair once I got there.

"Well?" James asked once I sat down. "How's it going?"

"You guys keep your money," I smiled. "Peter isn't half bad."

"I told you," James gloated, punching me playfully on the arm.

"However, I did hear some very earth shattering news just recently," I began, looking over to Sirius and Jaclyn's side of the table.

"Did he say I wear those purple pajamas?" Sirius asked, his eyes wide. "I swear, I haven't wore those since, like, second year."

"Try fourth," James said, trying to cough to cover it up, but earning a straw thrown at him nonetheless.

"No, sorry, Sirius," I rolled my eyes. "You came out of the closet for nothing. No, it was actually something more about my darling cousin and the purple pajama wearing bloke sitting next to her."

Jaclyn's eyes grew wide. "Oh, God, he told you?"

"Yes, and I couldn't be more furious - " I began, her eyes wide in fear, " – that you didn't tell me! You prat, I'm your own cousin. Did you honestly think I'd be upset?"

Jaclyn shrugged. "I, er, well - "

"What she's trying to say," Sirius interrupted his sputtering girlfriend, "is don't tell Lily."

"Oh, Lord, no," I shook my head. "I value my life, thank you very much."

"Why aren't you telling Lily?" Devon asked and Jaclyn began to launch into the story. Before long, there was a hand on my shoulder.

"You ready?" Peter asked me.

"Yeah," I said, getting to my feet and putting the chair back where I had taken it. "See you lot later."

Peter and I laughed as Sirius and James made kissy faces and crooned as we left the pub. Once outside, I smiled at Peter and took his hand, making him blush.

"Thanks for being my date today, Jamie," Peter said shyly.

"It was my pleasure," I smiled, squeezing his hand lightly.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Well, it's only fair that I apologize for it taking so long, then say get over it cause that's gonna keep happening. I had NO CLUE what to write for this chapter, and only got it finished because my darling cousin kamers wrote the first person POV up there at the end. I have to applaud her for it, as I personally think it's very good and wish I had written it myself. Well, now that I've given her due credit, it's time to answer reviews and get to work on the next chapter, which, of course, will take forever since I have NO CLUE what to write for it. I might just skip to Christmas. Lol. Anyway…

Nicoley117: MY FRIEND+love+ hehe. I'm hyper and sleep-deprived. I enjoyed writing it. But we'll have to wait til next "year" for more, unfortunately. Well, maybe one more game this year. But whatev.

kamers: um… yeah. Thanks for reviewing and stuff. Lol. Kidding. Love ya, cuz.

Dragonfly: Enjoying this recent development, Dev?

Ariella Lupin etc.: Thank you! I try. Pixy Stix are THE BEST!!!! Lol.

GrednForge101: oo. Thank you! Hehe. +blushes+ Hope this has enough of them in it, then. Lol. And stuff… I'm really tired. Sorry. Lol.

-Carp


	19. Yuletide Carols

**CHAPTER NINETEEN:** _Yuletide Carols_

"I'm not going home!"

Jamie and Jaclyn looked around at Katie, startled by her outburst. The Rooney family owl had delivered a letter, and Katie had just crumpled it up and set it on fire with her wand. Now she was glaring at it the flaming ball until it was no more than a pile of ash on the rug. There were angry tears in her eyes.

"Kit, what's wrong?" Jaclyn asked in an alarmed tone.

"They want me to go home for Christmas! They want me there, to 'be a family' with them! But I'm not going back!"

"Kit…" Jaclyn sat on the couch with her, wrapping her arms around her best friend. "Kit, they miss you… You've burned every letter they've sent you, and you've been moping about for months. Would Lauren want you to isolate yourself like this?"

Katie violently pushed Jaclyn away and hurtled herself up the stairs. Jaclyn lay sprawled on the floor where she'd landed, shock written all over her face.

"We have to follow her," Jamie said, grabbing Jaclyn's hand and pulling her up onto her feet again.

They sprinted to their dorm. She was sitting on her bed, knees pulled up to her chest, and staring blankly out the window, her eyes still glistening. Jaclyn cautiously sat at the foot of the bed, near Katie, but still at a safe distance. Jamie sat at the head, putting Katie between the two of them. She seemed to not even notice them taking their seats beside her. Slowly, cautiously, Jaclyn extended a hand and placed it on Katie's shoulder. Katie didn't move, but her eyes came back into focus.

"Kit, please talk to us," Jaclyn said quietly. "We want to help. Please tell us what's bothering you, love."

Katie was silent unmoving for a while, but Jaclyn noticed that her brow furrowed minutely. She just let her take her time. "You want to know what's _bothering_ me?" she asked quietly after a few minutes of waiting. Her voice shook with emotion, but it seemed to Jaclyn that that emotion was anger, rather than sadness. "Well, let's see. I can't be sure, but I think the fact that Death Eaters killed my baby sister over the summer might have something to do with it."

At the angry sarcasm, Jaclyn drew back her hand. "Katie, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," she spat, closing her eyes tight against the tears. "It's them who should be sorry, trying to get me to come home. Never…"

"Katie, they only want you home because they miss you-" Jamie began.

"Miss me? No, they don't miss me, Jamie. They wouldn't miss me if I were dead. They miss Lauren and they think that by getting us all together again, they can fill up that hole. But _I_ can't fill up that hole. I'm not needed, and I don't want to be there!"

"Katie, they _love_ you!" Jaclyn exclaimed. "They're your family!"

"No they're not! My family includes a set of twins. There are no twins in that family!"

"Just because Lauren's gone, doesn't mean she has to be forgotten! They're still your family! I was there too, Kit! I lived with you for the rest of the summer. I know what they said, what they felt, when you were hiding up in your room. They wished you would come down and talk to them. Your mom said it felt like she'd lost _two _daughters to the Death Eaters, the way you pushed everyone away. It was like you _were_ dead, and I promise you they missed you!"

"Then why isn't anyone putting pressure on Danielle, huh?" she yelled at Jaclyn. "She hasn't said _a single word_ since the funeral. Her teachers couldn't get her to answer in class, her friends can't get her to socialize, her boyfriend stopped even trying, and everyone wants _me_ to open up? Tell me, where's the logic in that?"

Jaclyn and Jamie said nothing. There was nothing they could say. Katie had tears falling freely down her cheeks now. She stood up and began pacing the room as she ranted.

"Everyday since it happened, I've had nightmares about that day. I see it over and over again. Looking for you and Sirius, calling your names. Then they showed up out of nowhere, in their long, black robes, with their white masks. The lightning flashed over and over and the rain fell, blurring everything, but those masks stood out. We tried to hide, to get into a store, or somewhere they wouldn't try to get us, but they grabbed me with their wands and threw up against a wall, then down onto the street, bouncing me everywhere. My arm gave a sickening crack, but they didn't stop. Every once in a while they would take a break to use the Cruciatus Curse, but that of course was no relief.

"I couldn't see my family. Everything was spinning. All I knew was that Brandon and Tony had been bound with ropes. But at one point, I heard the voice. It wasn't the one that was torturing me. It was a woman, a woman I can almost swear I knew somehow. She said, 'And now it's your turn to die, you blood traitor. But don't worry, because you'll get to see your Muggle husband soon enough.' I knew they were talking to my mum. I saw a flash of green, I thought she was dead. Moments later, I completely blacked out. There was no energy left in me, no will to live.

"I just wish they'd let me die." She gave a great shuddering sob and fell to the ground. "I just wish I could die!" she cried out. "My sister…Lauren saved my mum! Despite all her talk about blood purity and being buddies with Bella and Snape, she jumped in front of my mom to save her life! I'm here, and Lauren's gone! Why? Why didn't they kill me, too?"

Suddenly, Jaclyn and Jamie understood. They understood the pain and grief going through Katie right now. "Survivor's Guilt," Jamie whispered to Jaclyn, Katie unable to hear it over the sounds of her own wailing cries. Jaclyn nodded, before sliding off the bed and kneeling down next to Katie and taking her in her arms. Katie sobbed into the shoulder of Jaclyn's robes, while Jaclyn whispered soothingly.

"Shh… It's okay, baby. It's okay. C'mon, love, cheer up. We're here. We're here for you."

"I want to die…"

"No you don't, Kit. There's a reason for you being here, I know it. It's Grace that you're alive. For some reason, it was time for Lauren to go, Kit. But it's not your time. Grace saved you, so stop being sad about it, and thank Grace that you're hear. You can make a difference. You can fight the Death Eaters. You can get revenge on your sister's death. You need to live, for Lauren, because of Grace."

Jamie stayed silent on the bed, knowing that she was witnessing a moment between the two best friends. When Katie finally calmed down, Jaclyn led her to the bed and tucked her in, pulling the covers up around her as if she were a young child.

"Listen to Grace, Kit," she whispered, as the exhausted Katie closed her puffy blue eyes and fell asleep.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

The next day was time for everyone to leave for Christmas holidays. Those who were staying waved off the ones that were being whisked away for a wonderful Yuletide celebration with their families. Jaclyn, James, Sirius, Jamie, Peter, and Lily were among those heading home. Jaclyn and Jamie's families were going to the Carter house for Christmas to celebrate together. Sirius was going to his own hated home, and James, Peter, and Lily were off to have their own brands of family Christmas. Katie and Danielle were staying behind at Hogwarts, along with Remus, who decided that he was willing to sacrifice the quality family time if it meant helping Katie and being there for her.

"So, Potter, I hear you and Devon Heck have become quite serious," Lily said to James. She looked positively uncomfortable being in the compartment; as Jaclyn and Jamie had both befriended the Marauders and, as Lily was not very warm to the prospect of being alone in a compartment, Jaclyn and Jamie had insisted they share with the three boys, all six of them were together in one compartment on the train.

James looked at her surprised. "Er, yeah. Yeah, I, er, fancy her loads."

"Really? Is it the whole Qudditch thing?" Lily looked about as uncomfortable talking about this as James did, but as the other four were pointedly ignoring the two of them – for reasons neither could fathom – they had nothing better to do than talk to each other.

"Er, I guess yeah. I mean, she's pretty, she plays Quidditch, and she didn't turn me down." He grinned slightly, but it did not reach his eyes.

Lily blushed prettily. "Er, yeah. So, you've…?" She hesitated, before plowing on. "So you've just given up on me then?" The other four were noticeably quieter, obviously hanging on the answer.

James hesitated, then muttered, "Yeah."

"What?"

"I said yes. Yes, I've given up on you. I guess after five years, it finally hit me to just move on, okay, Evans?"

"Er, okay," she said softly.

James stood up suddenly and left the compartment, slamming the door. Lily, for some reason, looked near tears. After a second of stunned silence, Sirius got up and followed his friend.

He found him down the hall in an empty compartment. When Sirius stepped into the room, he witnessed a James that he wished he'd never seen. James was slumped on the seat, his head in his hands, looking positively distraught.

"Prongs…?"

"Go away, Sirius."

"Prongs, what's the matter?"

James looked up at him sharply. "Well, let's start with the fact that I'm shamelessly using a wonderful girl to obtain someone else. Perhaps then, after we've covered that part, we can move onto how I'm sitting there blatantly lying to the girl I _love_ saying that I don't care anymore. Do you have any idea how that feels?"

"Uh, yeah, mate, I do," Sirius said, sitting down across from James. "I had to tell Jaclyn that. The next day, she nearly died. Do you have any idea how _that_ felt?" James was silent. For a while, Sirius was too. "Look, mate," Padfoot finally said, "you're doing this to get Lily. You're doing it for the good of love. When she realizes it's her loss, you'll quit thinking about the morality of it and rejoice that it worked!"

"It's not right to hurt Devon this way. And besides, I'm hurting more than one person. Wood, for example. Devon is his Lily. I ripped that apart." He sighed. "I think I'm gonna end things with Devon."

"What! Prongs, that's your ticket to Lily!"

"My ticket to Lily is being a good person, Sirius," he said in a rather frighteningly stern voice. "I know that using Devon to make her jealous is not being a good person, no matter how well it's working. I _love_ Lily. Maybe as the school's playboy, you can't understand that feeling-"

"Excuse me? I'll have you know that I was willing to die for Jaclyn that day in Diagon Alley."

James huffed in annoyance, before continuing. "I would willingly sacrifice my life for Lily Evans. I can't say why I love her, but I know I do. She is the physical embodiment of perfection. I know that to win her heart, I have to be as close to that as possible. I haven't touched Snivelly once since term started. I haven't played a single prank. I haven't gotten a single detention. Short of dating Devon, I've done everything right, and you and Pearce would call that right anyway. If she doesn't come round and see that I've changed, then I guess…" He stopped. He didn't know how to finish that sentence. "Then I guess I'll never be happy." He stood up sharply, making for the door, but Sirius stopped him.

"Mate, I'm sorry. You're right."

Lily Evans had been standing outside the compartment the whole time, having followed Sirius on the pretense of "having to use the loo." The entire conversation reached her ears. Now, she had no idea what to think. It was true that she had noticed a spectacular change in James behavior over the past months. Katie had discussed it at length with her, getting no more than a few grumbles out of the redhead in response. Honestly, she was in denial. She did not want to admit that he had finally changed, after years of pointing out what he was doing wrong. She did not want to admit that her excuse for not dating him was now sheer pride. No, she did not want anyone to see that she could be just as stuck-up and arrogant as she had constantly called James Potter. Before they could come out and discover her eavesdropping, she hurried back to their shared compartment, where she and James sat in relative silence for the rest of the trip.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Sirius sat in his room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, staring at the horrible green-and-silver décor. He hated this house. He hated his family. He hated-

TAP TAP!

Sirius jerked his head in the direction of the tapping sound. It was a handsome Greater Sooty Owl, which he had only seen a few times before, swooping down to Jaclyn at breakfast time. She always looked happy when that owl landed, so he suspected he should be happy too.

TAP TAP TAP!

He hurried to the window and the owl swept in to land on the smooth walnut footboard of Sirius' bed. There was a scroll tied to its leg and it held out said leg so Sirius could remove it. He then sat down to read the note in an armchair in front of his own grand fireplace – though not nearly as grand as the one in the room of beloved Regulus he had noticed.

_Sirius, or Padfoot as they call you,_

_First of all, the owl belongs to my neighbor Madame Marjorie. I know I've told you about her. His name is Socrates, but I call him Sock or Socky. He's a right little sweetheart and a gorgeous thing._

_Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Lily figured it out somehow. She wasn't as mad as I thought she'd be – she was worse. But, on the bright side, at least now we can stop hiding it. Everyone knows._

_Anyway, Happy Christmas, I guess, even if it isn't til tomorrow. I haven't been able to get you your present yet, but I promise you that I will get it to you sometime this holiday or right after._

_Right now though, love, I have to run. My mom is attempting to cook and it's with no magic due to the whole "she's-a-Muggle-thing." I'd better be ready to stop any fires. Bye._

_Missing you,_

_Jaclyn_

He smiled and put the scroll in his pocket. He pet Socrates – Socky… he laughed at the nickname – before letting him out the window with only a "_See you soon, love_" scrawled on a piece of parchment. Then he heard his name being called from downstairs. He sighed, steeling himself, and marched down the stairs. Sittings in the elegant green-and-silver dining room were his parents and brother, the beloved Regulus. They were seated around a table, his father at the head, his mum to his father's left, and Regulus in what used to be Sirius's own spot at his father's right hand. Now Sirius sat at the foot of the table, the least honorable a position they had without completely cutting him off, for they needed to keep an eye on him.

"Good evening, father. Good evening, mother. Regulus." The last was given a crisp nod before Sirius sat down stiffly. A large ham was placed in the middle of the table, surrounded by all sorts of delectable side dishes. "Forgive the delay. I was reading a letter that had only just arrived."

A rough, rather unintelligent laugh came from his father's right side. "From who, Sirius? Your Mudblood friends?" taunted Regulus, with none of the elegance and grace his family members were displaying. "Or was it those blood-traitors?"

Sirius shot him a glare.

"Now, now, Regulus, that's enough," his father "scolded," although a nasty grin was on is features. Regulus just smirked at his older brother. "However, Sirius, I am wondering this as well. Who _did_ send the letter you speak of?"

Sirius knew what they were getting at, but only took a fork and knife to his slice of ham. "Oh, it was no one, Father."

"Come now, son. It must have been someone important to have kept you from this wonderful Christmas Eve feast." It was obvious that he was enjoying this.

Sirius took a while to chew a piece of ham and swallow it before answering. "Well, Father, if it concerns you so much, I ought not to keep you in suspense." He smiled amiably, but a sharp glint of hatred shown from his eyes. "It was a girl. Her name is Jaclyn Carter."

"Carter, is it? I don't believe that name is familiar. What is her blood?" He said this all casually, of course, but the glint of hatred in his own eyes grew sharper.

He seemed to be thinking hard about this, but they knew it was a game. "Red, I think. She _is_ fully human."

"You know what I mean, boy," Mr. Black growled, breaking his elegant façade.

Sirius did not crack. "Oh, you mean her wizarding heritage? Why didn't you just say so in the first place, Father?" He laughed, as if truly surprised and amused. "Well, her parents are Muggles."

His mother gave a horrified gasp. Mr. Black turned a lovely shade of puce. "So you're receiving letters from a nasty little Mudblood, eh?"

_James placed a hand on his friend's shoulder before he could leave with Regulus._

"_Hey, mate, if you need anything, you know where I live."_

_Sirius nodded, grinned as cheerfully as he could, and left with the Black family._

"Don't call her that," Sirius growled. For a few moments, they both glared at each other, before the mask returned to both faces. "Mother, I'm feeling quite ill. Would you mind if I be excused?"

She nodded curtly and he left. For good.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Jaclyn's head jerked up and the happy conversation she'd been involved in came to an abrupt halt. She was sitting in her living room with her parents and Madame Marjorie, with all four dogs – the Carters' three and Rufus – playing on the floor together. The dogs went crazy with their barking and everyone heard Jonathon thumping through the upstairs hallway and down the front stairs to get the door. Soon they heard voices talking before Jon yelled, "JAC! THERE'S A BOY HERE FOR YOU!"

Her parents both gave her shocked looks. Madame Marjorie merely smiled and leaned back in her seat. Jaclyn slowly got up and strode out into the foyer, stopping dead when she saw who her gentleman caller was.

"Sirius? What are you doing here?"

He grinned at the shock on her face. "I told you I'd see you soon, love."

"Yeah-But-How?" she spluttered.

He laughed, embracing her gently and kissing her. She led them upstairs into her bedroom, where she locked the door and sat them on the bed next to each other. "I'm on my way to the Potters' house," he told her.

"What? Why?"

"Well, you see, I kinda…ran away from home." He grinned guiltily.

She frowned contemplatively. "Were they that horrid to you?" she asked him softly.

"No, not exactly… They were the same as usual to me. But they weren't very kind to you."

"To me? But I-"

"Your letter," he said simply.

"Oh…" She frowned even deeper. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be! It's not your fault. They are horrible people and I'm ashamed to be related to them. In fact, I'm thinking of changing my name." He grinned mischievously. "I can be Brown. Sirius Brown. How does that sound?"

She laughed. "It sounds _better_ as Black. Perhaps…" Her face turned more serious. "Perhaps you could be the one to change the name of Black. Make them into good people. Start of family and raise good Black children. Teach them to love equally, and hate none… What are you doing? Sirius?"

He had slid from the bed and was on one knee in front of her. He was fishing in his pocket and pulled something out, which he then hid in a balled-up fist.

"Sirius Black-!" She looked almost frightened.

"Jaclyn…I love you. I love more than life. I would die for you. I… I love that dream of yours, changing the Black name… Would you become part of that dream? Would you… Would you marry me?" He opened his fist, displaying a beautiful diamond band. The main rock was huge, with two smaller diamonds on both side, and then the rest of the gold band was embellished with tiny diamonds set in it all the way around the ring.

She gasped when she saw it. "Sirius, I-" He'd cursed Snape into a week in the hospital wing for calling her a Mudblood. He'd saved her life. He'd never given up on her. He really did _love_ her, and she knew she loved him. She'd been telling her diary that for months now. But was he the one she wanted to spend her whole life with? Was she ready for this? "Yes. Yes, I will marry you. I…I love you."

She jumped into his arms, taking the ring and placing it on her finger. It glittered beautifully. She kissed him hard and his eyes widened spectacularly, but only for a moment. He lifted her up and lay her down on her bed, never breaking the kiss. His hands moved and began unbuttoning her blouse – inwardly cursing the complexity of the Muggle clothing – but stopped when he lacy white bra became visible, pulling his mouth from hers.

"Jaclyn, I don't wanna hurt you," he whispered.

"It's okay," she whispered back, barely audible.

"Are you sure?"

She kissed him again. "Very sure."

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Sirius knocked on the heavy wooden door of Godric's Hollow. Mrs. Potter, an elderly woman, opened the door.

"Sirius! Er, what are you doing here? It's almost midnight – and Christmas Eve to boot!" She didn't, however, appear angry; in fact, she seemed rather amused.

"Er, hello, Mrs. Potter. Er, can I…live here?"

She blinked. "_Live_ here?"

"Er, yeah. I ran away from home."

"Well, I guess it would be okay… Just…carry your things up to one of the guestrooms and get settled in. We can talk about this in the morning, okay?"

He nodded, thanked her, and headed up to bed.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: It took long, I'm sorry. Lol. Anyway. Yes, they did have sex. Moving on past that… I dunno.

Thanks for reviewing. Sorry, but I'm tired. That's why that last part sucked.

-Carp


	20. Letters

Disclaimer: The song snippet is a song called "Letters" by Stroke 9.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

CHAPTER TWENTY Letters 

You're leaving me here, dear

Alone with all your letters

You're letting it go, no

Like innocence and feathers

_Kit,_

_Sirius proposed to me! On Christmas Eve to boot! What a present!_

_Hope you're hanging in there at the castle, but at least you've got Lupin to keep you company._

_Love!_

_Jaclyn_

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

_Lils,_

Hey, love. It's me. I really want to talk to you and you're not answering your phone, you're not owling, you're just ignoring me and it really hurts. Please, Lily, you're my best friend. You're supposed to be happy for me, not angry. I love Sirius. I have since second year. We're engaged now, and I hope to marry him as soon as we're out of school. Can you please talk to me? It's killing me, Lils.

Jaclyn

**x**o**x**o**x**

Kit,

Hope you're feeling better. Dunno if Jaclyn told you yet or not, but on Christmas Eve, Black came over while I was playing some Muggle video game with her little brother and proposed to her! Can you believe it? That's not all. I think they shagged! I don't know for sure, but afterwards they both looked rather…well, I don't know how to describe it, actually. It was similar to the way Jessika looks after she's been alone with Casey March, but it was different somehow. Jess just looks excited, but they had an aura of love around them that I've never seen around Jessika. You know, I'm not sure I've ever seen two people look at each other the way they look at each other. It's beautiful…

Well, anyway, we're going to go to Madame Marjorie Crouch's house. She's Jaclyn's elderly neighbor, and she's a witch. She wants to help us bring in the New Year and give out presents. She's a little touched in the head in my opinion, but she's a nice old lady and, hey, presents are presents!

Jamie

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jaclyn,

I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sirius

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jaclyn,

Congratulations! I think? Haha.

It would be great having him here, but he got sick on Christmas Eve, so while you're off shagging Sirius, I'm all alone in Gryffindor Tower with no one but Jessika who keeps going on about how great a shagger Daniel Ferkin is. Yes, she's moved on to a new guy. Not surprising, though, is it?

Oh, and don't deny shagging Sirius. I know him. Plus, Jamie suspects it and I got her letter right after yours.

Happy Christmas, Jackie!

Kit

**x**o**x**o**x**

Sirius,

I love you too.

Everyone seems to know now what happened after you proposed. I'm wondering though, how the bloody hell did that get out?

Jaclyn

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jaclyn,

I can't believe you would let yourself get this involved with one of those Marauders! But you know what? I think I'll get over it. You will too, you know. I'm just going to have to let you learn from your mistakes. After all, that's what I'm letting Katie do.

Don't worry. I'm not mad any more. Although, I think you may be – and I don't mean angry.

Love.

Lily Evans-Never-Potter

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jaclyn,

OMG!!! You're engaged! And you're not even seventeen until March! So, love, tell me, have you shagged him yet?

Jess

**x**o**x**o**x**

Prongs,

I heard you broke up with Devon. Interesting move. I'm glad. You've matured and Lily will definitely take notice. I knew you'd break it off without encouragement, thus proving your willingness to be the man Lily wants you to be.

Don't be mad at me for making you date Devon knowing you'd just break it off. Lily is certainly jealous, and you certainly are a moral person. It all works out.

Katie

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jessika,

No, we did not shag! Who told you we did?

Jaclyn

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jaclyn,

I didn't say anything to anyone! I swear!

Well, okay, I told Prongs, but that's it and he can keep a secret. Honest!

I love you!

Sirius

**x**o**x**o**x**

Lily Evans-Will-Someday-Be-Potter-But-For-Now-She's-In-Denial,

You'll come round, Lils. I know you will.

Love.

Jaclyn Carter-Soon-To-Be-Black

**x**o**x**o**x**

Sirius,

Somehow, Sirius, I find that hard to believe.

However, I will let you off the hook for now. It's bound to get out eventually.

I love you, too.

Jaclyn

**x**o**x**o**x**

Bly,

Wait a minute! You set me up! You made me date Devon knowing I was just going to be using her and hurting her! You're worse than-

I can't finish that, can I? The best word to end that sentence is "me."

So, what's the next step in obtaining Miss Lily? Does it involve something else horribly immoral? Backstabbing and betrayal? Murder perhaps?

Prongs

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jaclyn

I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU!

Your future husband,

Sirius Black

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jaclyn Carter-Soon-To-Be-Dead-If-She-Doesn't-Shut-Her-Large-Mouth,

I will never marry James Potter! I am not in denial!

Lily EVANS!!!!!!!!

**x**o**x**o**x**

Prongs,

Don't be mad at me, Prongs! I was only trying to help! And it's working! Now all you have to do is continue being a good person and you'll have Lily by seventh year. I promise.

Katie

**x**o**x**o**x**

Jamie,

I can't believe I'll be seeing you guys in just two days! Hope you don't forget anything! And bring me back some more of that Muggle chocolate. What was it called? Hearty's? Herzees? Whatever. Just bring me some! It's delicious!

Jessika

**x**o**x**o**x**

Author's Note: Just a little fun chapter to tide you over. Relatively easy to write and quick to read, but it has some info in it, I guess. Whatever. Have fun!

-Carp


	21. Author's Note

Hey, guys! This is La Mariposa's cousin, kamers, just to let y'all know that she is currently without internet and isn't sure when she's going to be back. She wanted me to tell you all, so you know that she isn't quitting on "The Great Disappointment" or anything. Just think - since she's without internet, she has lots of time to keep writing, right:)

Oh, and, if you're bored since La Mariposa can't update..go ahead and check out my story "Let Me Be Your Downfall." Tee hee..gotta love shameless plugging.

Anyways, hope y'all are having a great day!

kamers 


	22. Wanna Play a Game?

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (OR I GUESS IT'S TWENTY-TWO):** _Wanna Play a Game?_

Jessika was the first one on the Astronomy Tower that Friday night, so she leaned against the crenellations and look out across the grounds. It was a warm spring night; though a cool breeze blew, it did not chill her. The snow had long since melted from the grounds and in the distance she could see the Whomping Willow with new life growing on its violent, bloodthirsty branches. She was waiting for Grant Cook, the guy that had come into the picture after Daniel Ferkin's one week. Ferkin had been rather shy and boring; despite what bloody Katie said, Jessika wanted a guy she could enjoy talking to as well as shagging. Shagging was just a perk.

At thirteen-past, Grant finally stumbled through the trapdoor. He was a Broom Closet Playboy, and wasn't quite used to the sophistication of meeting on the Astronomy Tower. As he staggered towards her, the cool breeze scent brought a horribly strong odor of alcohol, presumably firewhiskey. The way his eyes were traveling over her body, as if she were a plump cow and he a starving lion – or maybe mouse and eagle, as he was a Ravenclaw? – made a horrible nauseous feeling rise up in her throat. A look at the crotch of his trousers told her that he was well on his way to being ready and would not wait.

"Er… Grant? Could you hold on a second?"

But he had already thrown himself at her and begun to suck at her neck. She tried to push him off of her, but his hands were groping, tearing at her robes.

"Grant! Stop!"

She was scared. She had not performed the _Impedio Ingravesco_ spell on herself that would prevent pregnancies, and to be honest she wasn't sure she really even wanted to be shagging this slobbery, drunken seventh-year anymore. She tried again in vain to push him before reaching for her wand, which he knocked away. Suddenly, a flash illuminated the Tower and a puff of purple smoke rose up. She saw a greasy-haired Severus Snape in the shadows holding a large wizarding camera. He had a sinisterly evil grin on his face.

"No!" she cried out desperately.

He just turned and, with a swish of his uniform robes, disappeared down the stairs.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

As it was a Friday night and no one had anything to get up for the next morning, the Marauders and their female companions, due mainly to Lily's hatred of being alone and abandoned while her friends enjoyed themselves, were sitting downstairs in the abandoned common room and 11:43 p.m. Remus had been convinced, thanks to Katie's especially persuasive techniques, to abuse his prefect status and send the younger students to bed. There had only been one seventh-year in the room at the time studying and had decided to leave only a little while after, knowing she was not welcome. Now, the eight teens sat in a circle of alternating boys and girls; Jamie sat next to Peter, followed by Jaclyn, then Sirius, then Katie, then Remus, then Lily who was stuck next to James, who finished the circle by having Jamie on his other side.

"So…" Sirius sighed.

"Oh, Merlin!" Jaclyn smacked him hard on the back of the head. "You will not start that again, Sirius!"

"Fine, fine… Then what should we do? I'm _bored_!"

Jaclyn sighed. She didn't know.

"Wanna play a game?" Jamie suggested, shrugging.

"Okay, like what?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What else but Truth or Dare?" Jamie grinned wickedly.

Lily chewed her lip. "Fine… But-"

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Jamie before turning to Peter. "Well then, Peter, I think it's time we reveal our surprise."

"Sur…prise?" Lily gulped, her eyebrows shooting to her hairline.

"Peter here nicked a little something from Scythe's stores. Just a little…motivation to tell the truth." She smirked and Lily's eyes widened.

"You didn't!"

But Peter was holding up a small vial of clear liquid, grinning proudly. "I did!"

Jaclyn and Lily instantly glared at Sirius and James, knowing they had to have had something to do with this, but they were wearing the same looks of shock they had been. "I had no clue, Evans," James protested.

"Way to go, Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed, reaching across Jaclyn to clap him on the back. "Didn't know you had it in you!"

"M-Me neither," he stammered, nervous under the harsh glare of the two girls, who were now looking only at him.

"Lils, Jac, calm down," Katie said soothingly. "If we only take a drop each, it'll only influence us to tell the truth and make it extremely hard, not to mention obvious, if we try to lie. We're wizards. Why play a game of Muggle Truth or Dare when we can spice it up with magic?"

Lily looked rather put out at this statement. After a few moments, even Jaclyn relaxed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, but taking Sirius's right hand in her left. His eyes rested for a second on the ornate ring on her finger and softened, but when she squeezed his hand he looked up again and those same blue eyes had the mischievous, puppy-like glint he was known for.

"Fine…" Lily sighed, giving in. Sirius, Jamie, and Peter cheered. Jaclyn rolled her eyes and Lily frowned.

As soon as the Veritaserum had been properly administered – by Lupin, who could be trusted the most, apparently – they Summoned seven cushions – Jaclyn and Sirius shared one – and settled in. Sirius donated his wand to be the spinner and Jamie went first, as it was her idea to play. The wand spun around until stopping in front of Sirius. They both smirked.

"Dare," Sirius said.

"Okay…" Jamie thought for a minute before looking at them. Jaclyn's stomach fell. She knew that look. "I dare you to shag Jaclyn right now."

"What?!" Jaclyn exclaimed.

Sirius wisely said nothing.

"Oh, c'mon, Jackie, it's not like you haven't already."

"Yeah, once, in the privacy of my bedroom!" Color rose in her cheeks, both out of embarrassment and anger.

"So you admit it!" She, Lily, and Katie all grinned triumphantly.

"Yes, I admit that I had sex with the man I love." It was apparent, however, that her red cheeks were now more out of embarrassment than anger.

"Brilliant!" She looked at Sirius. "Go on, then, Black. Go shag your fiancée. You can go up in the dormitory, but we'll have…Remus follow you and make sure you do it."

"Excuse me?!" Lupin demanded, shooting her a bewildered glare. "I don't want to hear them go at it!"

"Fine… Well, they can't lie to us anyway with the Veritaserum in them."

Sirius finally took this opportunity to speak up. "I'm not going to do that."

"What?"

"You heard me." He took Jaclyn's hand in an even tighter grasp. "I'm not going to make Jaclyn do that. It's _my_ dare. She shouldn't be forced to do something that serious if she doesn't want to." Jaclyn couldn't help but smile at his love. "I'll take a Truth, please."

Jamie looked deflated. James and Remus looked amused and a little proud. "Fine then. You're a right git, you know that?"

"Yes, and I'm proud. Now please give me my question so I can spin the wand."

She sighed. "Okay. Er…How many girls have you shagged?"

His brow wrinkled in concentration. After at least a minute, he seemed to decide and said, "Twenty-three, including Jaclyn."

Jaclyn's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me? Twenty-three _different_ girls?"

"Er… yeah…" He fidgeted with his tie, which he had removed earlier and placed in his lap.

She said nothing more, but a curious look remained on her face and she removed her hand from his, placing it in her own lap. Sirius spun the wand now. It landed on James. Sirius smirked and James frowned, frightened.

"Prongs, mate, Truth or Dare?"

"Er…" Which would be safer? He knew that his best friend could probably think of something horrible either way. "Dare, I think…"

"Hmm… I dare you to…kiss Wormtail."

"WHAT?!" James and Peter both shrieked, looking at him with a look of horror on each of their faces.

"Kiss Wormtail. Like you mean it."

After at least five minutes of stalling, arguing, and even down-on-the-knees begging, Lily laughed and told them to get on with it. They both glared at her before slowly leaning in towards each other, a look of disgust on both their faces. Their lips touched only slightly until Katie grabbed both their heads and pushed them together. They flew back, wiping their mouths and making barfing noises. Another five minutes passed in which the two yelled at Katie and Sirius while cleaning out their mouths. Finally James spun the wand and it landed on Lily. She turned pale and he flushed.

"Er…Dare."

"I dare you to, er… I don't know. I, er, can't think of any."

"I can," Remus said, grinning. "I dare you, Lily Evans, to go to the Graduation Ball with him, James Potter, no matter who you're dating at the time."

Her jaw dropped and she stared around at the group as if hoping someone would save her from this fate. No one would. She hung her head in resignation. "Fine."

James fought back a whoop of joy as Lily took her turn. It hit Jaclyn. "Truth," she said calmly.

"Okay. What's your favorite color?"

There were exclamations of disbelief and outrage at this lame question, but Lily and Jaclyn merely smiled and ignored them. "Blue or green. It changes from time to time. Sometimes I like purple the most." Jaclyn spun the wand.

After another hour and many lame or revealing questions and dares, the portrait hold creaked open, causing them all to jump and stare as a torn and bruised Jessika Rodgers fell through, sobbing uncontrollably. Lily and Jamie, an aspiring Healer, hurried to her side as Jaclyn clutched Sirius's arm and Katie watched with a curiously worried expression on her face.

"Jess, what happened? Jessika?" Jamie demanded, reaching out to shake her to her senses, but the moment she touched her arm, the girl yelped and smacked her away.

"No!" she screeched. Katie's face looked genuinely concerned, which surprised Jaclyn. However, no matter how shocked Jaclyn was at that sight, nothing could prepare her for what happened next. Katie jumped off her cushion and kneeled down next to Jessika. Katie forced her to look at her.

"Jessika, tell me what happened, please."

For a second Jessika's tears subsided slightly to let an expression of shock and disbelief cross her face, but then she flung herself on Katie and began to sob into her robes.

"Are you seeing this?" Jaclyn whispered to Remus, who just shrugged with a wide-eyed expression on his own features. Everyone else in the room seemed to be in as much a state of shock as Jaclyn and Remus as they watched Katie hold Jessika, rocking her back and forth rubbing her back soothingly.

"Jess, honey, tell me what's wrong, please?"

"Kit! Oh, Merlin… H-He… I said st-stop, but h-he kept going and going…"

"Who, honey? Who did you meet on the tower tonight?"

"G-Grant C-Cook. B-But there w-was someone el-else. He t-took a p-p-picture!"

Katie gasped angrily. "Who was it, Jess? Tell me who it was!"

"S-Snape."

Katie instructed Jaclyn and Lily to get her into bed and for Jamie to follow and heal her bruises. She then turned to Sirius, who had out his wand and was tying his shoes in preparation to storm the dungeons or search out the Ravenclaws.

"Sirius, sit down. James, put that Cloak of yours away."

"Katie, we're not about to let them get away with what they've done," James snapped irritably as he put his cloak back in his bag.

"And we're not going to. But I have a plan." She looked at Sirius. "You told me once that your parents gave you your own house elf and you brought it here to work at Hogwarts, right?"

"Yeah, Shicky. What do you want him for?"

She sighed. He could be rather thick. "I need you to call him."

"Okay… SHICKY!" The house elf popped into the room, wearing a rather sleepy expression.

"Master called Shicky, sir?" he asked, bowing low.

"Yeah, er, this is Katie. I need you to listen to whatever she tells you, Shicky. Understand me?"

"Yes, Master." He bowed again, this time to Katie. "Shicky pledges his undying loyalty to Mistress Katie, ma'am. How can Shicky serve his new Mistress?"

"Er…" She looked uncomfortable. "Well, do you know how to get into the Slytherin dormitories?"

"Yes, Mistress! Shicky always goes into all the dormitories when the students are sleeping to clean."

"Well, can you find Severus Snape's dormitory and bring us his camera?"

"Yes, Mistress!" Shicky squeaked eagerly, disappearing with a loud pop.

"Why…? Oh! I get it!" Katie just rolled her eyes at Sirius's stupidity. "So what are we going to do about Cook?" he asked.

"Nothing-" Remus began, but Peter cut him off angrily.

"We're not going to let Cook get away with hurting Jessika like that, Moony! She doesn't deserve what happened to her and-and…" He trailed off at the astonished and slightly admiring looks he was receiving from Sirius, Katie, and James.

"I know that, Womrtail. Don't worry. Listen, all we have to do is set a few traps for him tomorrow. He has Ancient Runes _and_ Potions with me. I can get him then. You guys can take care of the rest of the day. He does Quidditch now, Prongs, so you can go down to the pitch and get him the and…" He too trailed off as he received the same astonished and admiring looks from Sirius, Katie, James, and Peter. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I have never been more turned on in my life, Remus, than right now," Katie whispered, giving him a seductive look.

He flushed and paled at the same time. "Well, I-I, er…"

The other Marauders laughed at this. "Wow, Moony, I didn't know you could turn that shade!" James exclaimed.

"Where have you been hiding this side of you, mate?" Sirius demanded of him. "You're starting to finally act like a Marauder!"

Now recovered, Remus cleared his throat pompously and straightened up. "Well, this is for a good cause, of course. It's like Wormtail said, Jessika doesn't deserve this."

"You know, we really coulda used your brains the last six years, Moony," James stated matter-of-factly.

Just then, Shicky popped in, saving Remus the trouble of having to reply. He was holding a large wizarding camera in his arms, knees shaking and threatening to buckle under the weight of it.

"Shicky got the camera, Mistress," he stated wearily, dropping it in Katie's lap.

"Thanks Shicky. Now, er… I want you to stop obeying me and only obey Sirius again, okay?"

Shicky nodded again and bowed to Sirius, who in turn dismissed him. As soon as he was gone, Katie popped open the back of the camera and pulled out the filmstrip. Holding it up to the light she identified the moving picture of Grant and Jessika. Although it was difficult to make out at this size, it seemed the Jessika was not enjoying herself. Katie chucked the filmstrip into the fire and watched it melt before proceeding up the stairs and into bed herself. It was now 1:47 a.m.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Thank you, dear readers, for putting up with my absence. If you were/are annoyed, I have only this to say: Blame my dad. If you're happy I'm back: Thank my mom. He wouldn't give me the code, and she talked him into it. Lol. Sweet, huh? (Sweet as in "cool!" or "awesome!".) Anyway, I've decided to leave the 21st chapter thing up and just make this 22, since it would mess up the reviews and make people not able to review this, and that wouldn't be fun, now would it? Hehe. However, that means you _have_ to review, since I did you such a wonderful favor. Lol. Anyway, I'm gonna end this Author's Note now and put the bloody (love those British words!) chapter up!

Thank you, my wonderful reviewers!

-Carp


	23. The Death Eater

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:** _That's A Lot of Chapters_

Their plan was implemented the next day. Grant Cook didn't last through breakfast without being assaulted by the angry Marauders, including Remus. He stumbled out of the Great Hall with green skin, covered in pulsating boils, and blown up to twice his size. Every time he tried to speak, all that came out was a loud, croaking gasp.

The girls were doing their part in protecting Jessika, surrounding her when they walked through the halls. (Jaclyn and Jamie took either side, while Lily walked behind her and Katie led the way.) She was quiet throughout the entire day, except for once when she passed the mutated Grant on his way to the hospital wing and blurted out, "Oh my God, you look like a frog!" He croaked sadly before waddling off again.

Everything went decently throughout that weekend, the boys not getting in an ounce of trouble for what they'd done to Cook, and Cook himself spending the entirety of Saturday in the hospital wing. Monday morning, however, Katie received a letter from home. She read it twice, a look of incredulity appearing on her face.

"What is it?" Jaclyn asked through a mouthful of eggs.

"My mum wants to know if I knew anything about Danielle's skiving off class. I didn't even know she _was_ skiving off classes, but apparently she's been missing Potions almost every day she has it." She gave her friends a puzzled look.

"Why would she take off Potions?" Sirius pondered. "Scythe loves the Slytherins. She so horrible with favorites, that it makes me miss Slughorn with his Slug Club."

"I don't," Lily put in, grimacing. "I'd rather Scythe who hates me than Slughorn who goes on and on about how great a potion-maker I am."

"At least you have something for someone to go on about," Jessika commented quietly. She was slowly returning to her normal self, contributing to conversations now and then, if not in a slightly reserved tone. "I'm _horrible_ at Potions."

"Yeah, remember that time you exploded your cauldron in third year?"

Jessika laughed lightly. "Yeah. Took Jamie's eyebrows a month to grow back."

"I dunno if I'll ever forgive you for that one, Jess," Jamie said, grimacing as she rubbed her completely normal eyebrows as if to make sure they were still there.

"ANYWAY," Katie interrupted, clearing her throat. "Back to the problem of my darling sister, please."

"Oh yeah…"

"Yeah. So should I talk to her? It's not like she's going to talk back or anything. She still hasn't said a single word in months." Her eyes darkened slightly and Jaclyn chewed her lip.

"Maybe you should try," the curly-haired blonde suggested, shrugging.

"Maybe…"

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

"Miss Rooney, you decided to join us today?" Scythe drawled in a sickly sweet tone.

Danielle blanched as their eyes met, a fearful expression in hers. She nodded slightly, and took her place at the back of the room, sliding down in her seat. The entirety of the class period was spent with Scythe hovering about Danielle's cauldron and asking her questions on the procedures, which Danielle did not answer but instead merely shrugged.

"Oh, that's right! I'm sorry, Miss Rooney," she hissed on one such occasion. "I forgot that you don't _speak_ anymore. I don't see how I could blame you, after watching your sister die so violently. That must have been _so_ horrible for you."

She slithered off to another group, leaving Danielle furious with tears welled up in her eyes.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Katie broke off from the group after Transfiguration, heading to where she hoped Danielle would be coming out of Potions, if she had attended. Luckily, she found that she had, but Danielle emerged from the dungeons trembling with tears threatening to fall. Katie instantly rushed over, forgetting about their House rivalry and embracing her sister, who began to sob noiselessly into her shoulder.

"Shh… Danielle, what happened… Talk to me." She knew it was hopeless, but she tried it anyway.

Danielle shook her head and pulled away, dragging her sister into a secluded corridor. Then she opened her mouth and did something she hadn't done in months. In a croaking, long-unused voice, she spoke. "Scythe."

"Wh-What?" Katie was stunned.

"Scythe…did it."

"Did what, Danielle? Did what?" Katie feared she knew, but didn't want to be right.

"Scythe killed…Lauren."

"Are you sure, Danielle? Are you positive?"

She nodded, beginning again to sob. This time, though, Katie did not rush to comfort the fourth-year. Instead, she rushed back down through the dungeons, stopping only at Scythe's classroom and flinging the door open violently. Class had already begun and the air was thick with perfumes from the various cauldrons.

"Miss Bly, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You are interrupting my less-"

Katie whipped out her wand and pointed it at the teacher, who quickly did the same. Katie was faster though, rage fueling her as she sent a Jelly-Fingers Curse at Scythe, hitting her wand arm, but not hitting the hand. Nonetheless, the woman dropped her wand and grabbed her trembling hand. She dove away from the next curse, sending a cauldron full of a foul-smelling green potion spilling all over a group of her first-year Ravenclaws. No one paid them any heed as they ran screaming from the classroom, covered in a glowing blue rash.

"I've figured it out, _Madam_!" Katie screeched maniacally. "I know the truth!"

"Miss Bly, I demand an explanation for your hysterical behavior!" Scythe gasped angrily, groping for her wand.

"You want an explanation? Danielle spoke! She told me the truth! She told me how you killed Lauren! It doesn't take a genius to put things together from there! You're a Death Eater!"

Scythe still couldn't quite grasp her wand, and Katie let her struggle.

"A post at Hogwarts… How'd you manage it, Scythe? I mean, it's the perfect way to ensure your own protection. No one would suspect a Hogwarts teacher. What'd you do? Wait and watch for Slughorn to get sick so you could move in on the castle?" Her eyes widened as a sudden realization hit her. "I'll bet you made him sick! That's why he's still not back! You dirty, little-"

"Crucio!"

Katie shrieked and writhed, the Ravenclaws screaming as they watched their teacher mercilessly torture a student, her fingers returned to normal.

"I've had about enough of you, you filthy half-blood! I couldn't kill your blood-traitor mother because of your stupid sister. I'm instructed not to kill on the grounds, but I think the Dark Lord may forgive me in this case.

"So you think you're real clever, do you? Putting the clues together like that? Yes, I poisoned Slughorn. Yes, I killed your sister. Yes, I admit it all! And what are you going to do? You're at my mercy!"

"Expelliarmus!" exclaimed first-year Michael Fregien, sending Scythe's wand shooting from her hand and ending the curse.

Katie gasped for a second, before muttering "Petrificus Totalus" and freezing the Death Eater. "Dumbledore will never make the mistake of hiring a Death Eater ever again, Scythe. Never again." She looked at Mikey and thanked him. "Go fetch Professor Dumbledore, Mikey, okay?" He nodded and ran off. "I should kill you now, Scythe! You deserve to die for what you did! You killed my sister! Danielle has been as good as dead for the past few months, and it's all your fault, Scythe! You've destroyed my family, and I'm going to make you pay! Crucio!"

The first-years screamed, with some of them running from the classroom. Scythe writhed and her body contorted into horrendous positions as Katie's curse tortured her, but Katie never stopped, until Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall rushed into the room and Dumbledore wrenched her arm up, breaking the path of the Cruciatus Curse.

"Miss Bly, calm down!" She fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. "Minerva, have them taken to my office, please."

"Yes, Albus," she said curtly, Summoning two stretchers and floating both trembling figures out of the classroom.

Dumbledore sent a quick message to the Ministry before following.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Well, I finally updated. And I still have no clue where I'm going with this, except that Slughorn is coming back, but that was to be expected, you know? Oh, and I did something to the first chapter. Review this, then go look at and review it separately. Anyway, I'm sick, so make me feel better by reviewing, okay? Okay. Thanks, ya'll!

-Carp­


	24. Cry Not For Me

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:** _Cry Not For Me_

Weep not for justice, for justice prevails.

Weep only for loved ones on whom it ails.

Cry not for me now, for I have done wrong.

Cry only for memories that soon will be gone.

"Before the Minister gets here, I need to know what happened. Mister Fregien, you saw the whole thing?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at Jamie's little brother, signaling him to answer.

"Y-Yes, sir."

"Please, tell me what went on."

"Well, we were learning a boil cure potion, and I wasn't very good at it, added too much nettles, but Candi's was worse. It turned this bright green color and… Well, anyway, Katie came in and started yelling at Madam Scythe and they took out their wands-"

"What did she yell, Mister Fregien?"

"Well, first she used a spell that made Madam Scythe's hand go all funny, like she couldn't pick anything up, and then Katie said she knew the truth, or something. She said that Madam Scythe killed Lauren and that Danielle told her. Then she said something about Madam Scythe being a Death Eater and poisoning a Slughorn?"

"Yes, yes, Professor Slughorn fell ill last year and Madam Scythe volunteered to fill in."

"She poisoned him!" gasped Katie from her chair, where she was still sobbing uncontrollably.

"She's right," Mikey said, continuing his story. "Madam Scythe used Crucio on Katie and admitted to killing Lauren, poisoning Professor Slughorn, and she even said she's a…"

"Yes?" Dumbledore urged.

But Scythe was glaring at Mikey. Her hands were bound and her wand far from her, but she was still a frightening thing to look at. Katie, whose hands were also bound, stretched out her leg and kicked Scythe's chair, knocking it over and making Scythe fall face forward on the floor. ((A/N: kamers, one of us needs to draw that. Lol)) She let out a small "Oomph" as her mouth and nose were planted in the soft carpet of the office floor and she got a mouth full of fibers and dust. Katie smirked.

"Miss Bly, please refrain from such behavior in my office," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Sorry, sir."

Professor McGonagall helped Scythe back into her chair as Dumbledore instructed Mikey to continue.

"She said she's a what, Mister Fregien?"

Mikey gulped before inhaling deeply and spilling out, "She said she's a Death Eater."

Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly. McGonagall gasped. "Are you sure of this, Mister Fregien?"

He nodded. "I stopped Madam Scythe by using Expelliarmus on her, because I wanted her to stop hurting Katie. Jamie cares about Katie, and I wanted to help. That's when I came and found you, sir."

"Miss Bly, is this true?"

She nodded.

"Am I right in assuming that you were using the Cruciatus Curse of your own merit?"

She nodded again.

"Am I also right in assuming that you understand that under Wizarding law, you have just committed a crime that earns you a lifetime sentence to Azkaban?"

She nodded again, lifting her chin in a proud look of resignation. "Yes, sir. I know."

"And yet you don't seem scared or worried at all, Miss Bly."

"No, sir. While the prospect of spending the rest of my life in Azkaban is quite frightening, at least I know that Death Eater will be locked up for good after killing my sister. I'll have my revenge."

"Well," huffed McGonagall. "Do you think of no one but yourself, Miss Bly? Gryffindors stand for bravery, not stupidity. What about your parents? Your loyal boyfriend perhaps?"

"Remus…" A few more tears leaked down as horror overcame her. "Oh my God… What have I done…" She began to sob again. "He'll hate me…"

There was a knock on the door, which Dumbledore opened in answer. A tiny woman walked in with the elegance and dignity of a queen, her small green eyes bright with curiosity and excitement. Two tall, thick men followed her, dressed in robes of a bleak gray.

"Ah, Minister, good to see you again," Dumbledore said, bowing deeply and kissing her hand.

"I doubt these circumstances could be considered 'good,' Albus," Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold said curtly, but her eyes sparkled. "Now, who do we have here?" She gestured to Katie and Scythe. Scythe scowled, Katie just sniffed. "You must be Sareh Scythe, and I suppose you're Katie Bly?" They ignored her. "I was brought here on the report that two Unforgivables had been used by you two. Were you a witness, sir?"

Mikey jumped. She was talking to him. The Minister of Magic was actually talking to him. He just gulped and nodded.

"Could you tell me exactly what happened, please?" she asked kindly, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. He recited his story and everyone remained silent, even Scythe. When he was finished, Minister Bagnold sat down heavily in a cushy chair Dumbledore had just drawn up for her. "Albus, do you trust these words to be truth?"

"Without a doubt," he replied instantly. "Mister Fregien has proven himself to be nothing but trustworthy, and he is far too intelligent to think that lying would benefit anyone. He _is_ of your House, Minister."

"Ah, a Ravenclaw. I taught here for some years, young man. I was Head of House for Ravenclaw. But you may go now. Speak nothing of this to your peers, though, no matter how much they may beg it."

He nodded and nearly ran out in his eagerness to go. As soon as he was gone, Bagnold turned to one of her gray-clad Aurors, the taller of the two, and held up a finger. He drew his wand and waited.

"Madam Sareh Scythe, do you have anything to say for yourself before we take you into custody?"

She spit a wad of gooey saliva at Katie, hitting her square in the chest. Otherwise, there was no response on her part.

"Very well, then. Mister Murphy, if you'll be kind enough to arrest Madam Scythe please?" She gestured towards her tall Auror and he moved forward, placing a Full Body Bind, Silencing Charm, and Disillusionment Charm on Scythe before hovering her out the hall.

"And you, Miss Bly?"

Katie fell to her knees before the adults, still crying.

"Weep not for justice, for justice prevails," she whispered. "Weep only for loved ones on whom it ails."

"Miss Bly…?"

"Cry not for me now, for I have done wrong," she continued. "Cry only for memories that soon will be gone."

"Schlessinger, please take her in." The second Auror raised his wand, but Dumbledore stepped in front of the kneeling, trembling figure. Katie's eyes raised from the dusty carpet to the backside of the robed figure before her. "A-Albus? What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm sorry, Minister, but I do not believe that Miss Bly deserves the sentence traditionally reserved for someone who has committed the crime she has committed."

"Albus, I-"

"I'm well aware of how irregular this may be, but as Miss Bly is underage, I'm thinking we should review her case more closely before deciding."

"Professor," Katie began, ready to protest his act of charity, but a frustrated Minister of Magic cut her off.

"You know that I can't just change the laws like that, Albus!"

"Millicent, Katie Bly just aided in the capture of a Death Eater that I had been sheltering under the roof of Hogwarts!" His tone was dangerous and frightening. "I owe it to her to try and protect her from being sentenced as a criminal, as do you! Sareh Scythe confessed to killing Lauren Rooney and poisoning Horace Slughorn in the name of the so-called Lord Voldemort." Bagnold gasped at the flippant usage of the madman's name. "In addition to that, Sareh Scythe could very easily have also had everything to do with the deaths of Zach Schmidt, Eva Crouch, Arianne Nuka, Katherine Vitani, Natasha Kieran, and Jack Kieran. If anything, Miss Bly should be receiving a _reward_, not a life sentence to Azkaban!"

Bagnold's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air for a few minutes, before she regained her composure enough to speak. "You…do have a point, Albus…"

"Yes, I thought so myself."

"I suppose we could let Miss Bly off with a warning… Since she is underage…"

"I suppose that would be a good idea."

Dumbledore stepped aside and Bagnold turned to Katie. "Miss Bly, you are free to go. Please…be more responsible next time…"

And then she turned heel and left, her Auror following closely in her wake, but not before bowing low to Katie, a gesture she would never understand.

"Minerva, if you would, please release Miss Bly and escort her back to her common room."

McGonagall nodded and complied.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, so it took a while. Lol. Well, anyway, I wrote the little bit of petry Katie says there. It came out at random. Hope you liked it.

-Carp


	25. Toujours Pur, Carter

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:** _Toujors Pur, Carter_

When McGonagall climbed through the portrait hole, everyone in the Gryffindor common room hushed instantly and stared. When they saw Katie's face, they knew something was very wrong. McGonagall left Katie in the common room and Remus rushed over to her, quickly gathering her into his arms.

"Kit, what happened?"

"Scythe… She's the Death Eater. She killed Lauren."

"What? How do you know?"

"Danielle told me."

"She _told_ you?"

"She spoke."

People were crowding around them, eavesdropping. "Let's go to my dorm." He helped her up the six flights of stairs to the sixth year dormitory. At first the darkened room seemed empty, but as they sat down on their bed they heard a gasping moan coming from Peter's bed. Remus shone his wand over and saw two figures engaged in a heated snogging.

"Wormtail?" exclaimed Remus.

There was a noise like a plunger being removed from a sink. "Moony?"

"Bloody hell!"

It was Katie's turn. "Jamie?"

"What are you doing!" yelled Remus, horrified.

Jamie and Peter shot up out of the bed, straightening clothes and fixing hair. "Er, we were just going…" They hurried out – probably to find a deserted broom closet somewhere.

"Well…" Katie said after a second of stunned silence. "I guess they're together, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"Like we are…" She reached up and kissed him, moving her mouth all over his face and neck, then moving to his chest. "I love you, Remus. I really, truly love you."

"I love you too, Kit…" At first he went along with the direction of things, even letting his mouth travel too, but after a few minutes she began to lift away his shirt. He pulled away then, firmly but gently removing her hands. "No, Katie."

"Don't you want me?"

"Not like this, no. You're sixteen, a virgin, and obviously distraught."

"You got two out of three there, Remus."

"You _are_ distraught. It's quite obvious."

"I know."

He looked quite puzzled. "You are sixteen, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"What?" It hit him. "Bloody hell! When? Who!"

"Fourth year. Marco Davies." She recited it rather matter-of-factly. A hint of shame did appear on her cheeks, but her current mental instability had thrown her off completely.

"What? But after all you said to Jessika-!"

"Jessika was a whore, Remus! I made a mistake!" She pushed him away from her and jumped up, pacing across the dark room.

After a few moments of more stunned silence, Remus sighed and stood up. "Come here, Kit."

She fell into his arms, beginning to cry again. He lay her down on the bed, pulling the blanket over both of them. She told him all about what had occurred today, about nearly getting expelled, nearly going to Azkaban. She told him how all she was afraid of was leaving him behind without knowing how much she really loved him – how much she couldn't live without him. All the while, he held her and rocked her, letting her feel safe under the blanket.

"Katie," he whispered when she was calmer, "we're going to get out of here, and I'm going to marry you, and you're going to never have to worry about Scythe or Voldemort or anyone, okay? I promise you, and I can promise that because I love you, and love conquers all. Okay?"

She nodded mutely.

"Now go to sleep. I'm here with you, and I promise I won't leave you."

She nodded again and closed her eyes.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Sirius led Jaclyn and the other two Marauders up the stairs silently to their dormitory. They stopped out side the door and Peter handed Jaclyn the camera, as she was the photographer of the group. Slowly Sirius pushed the door open, wincing as it creaked. Jaclyn slinked in and quickly snapped a picture of Katie asleep in Remus' arms. To their great surprise, neither of the couple woke. Peter was about to make a noise with his wand when James waved for him not to. They left and hurried down to the common room again.

"We shouldn't wake them," James announced.

"Yeah, I surmised as much when you stopped me from doing it," Peter said rather sarcastically. "Oh, er, hello, Jamie…" Jaclyn's cousin had just walked by, a turtle-necked sweater on accompanied by a long skirt.

She blushed pink. "Hello, Peter." Then she hurried off to breakfast, still bright pink.

"What was that about?" Sirius demanded of Peter, who was also bright red now.

"Nothing, nothing. Let's go eat. I'm starved."

Luckily Sirius was too hungry to be paranoid and Peter did not have to explain himself. Once in the Great Hall, they took their usual place at the Gryffindor table. Just as they had gotten seated, Jon and a small group of his friends came into the Great Hall, laughing and chatting among themselves. They sat themselves a few seats down, sitting in a group that Jaclyn fondly noted was similar to her own clique. She was staring at her brother, a goofy smile on her face, when he looked over and caught her eye. He stuck his tongue out at her, which she reciprocated before looking up at the sound of fluttering wings. It was the morning post. Jaclyn speared a sausage on her fork just as two owls swooped down, holding a very large parcel between them. They dropped it right on her plate, causing her orange juice to spill all over Sirius, and then took off, not waiting for her acknowledgement.

"What the hell is this?" James exclaimed, dropping his own forkload of eggs to snatch up a letter taped to the package's brown paper. He read it aloud as Jaclyn and the others leaned in, Sirius drying himself as Peter tore at the paper.

" 'Jaclyn,

" 'I hope this gift finds you well. I realize that I am over a month late, but I wanted to be sure that this was ready to be sent. It's your birthday present, dear. I don't want to spoil the surprise by telling you what this is in the letter, so just open it already! That is, if your dear friends haven't already.

" 'Love,

" 'Madame Marjorie

" 'P.S., Your parents do know about this.'"

James looked up and gestured anxiously for Peter to hurry up and open the gift already. His stubby fingers ripped away small pieces, but little progress was being made. It was when a strange scratching noise was heard that Jaclyn finally pushed Peter aside and used _Diffindo_ on the paper. It fell away to reveal a cage, which had in it a small white kitten. James and Peter's mouths dropped open, Sirius muttered, "Oh, hell," and Jaclyn let out a deafening squeal of joy. She flung the cage door open and scooped out the kitten, who took to batting at her golden curls. It was only after a few seconds that Jaclyn noticed the jeweled pink collar around her neck with a shining silver nameplate.

"Maggie," she read, before burying her face in the tiny kitten's fur.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

The kitten, however, was only one glimmer of hope and happiness for Jaclyn Carter that day. It was a warm, late-April day, but the Daily Prophet, Lily showed her, had reported a mysterious disappearance, only two doors down from Jaclyn's house – Madame Marjorie was gone. There had been no signs of struggle and nothing was missing as far as Ministry investigators could tell. Jaclyn swore to herself to not cry, knowing that Madame Marjorie was alive – or at least safe from Death Eaters. Why else would she have named the kitten after herself – unless she new she would no longer need the name?

So she walked out of the Great Hall out of breakfast with her head held high, only to be stopped on her way back in there before lunch by Dumbledore.

"Miss Carter, may I speak to you in my office, please." It was not a question.

She followed him through winding corridors to a brilliant stone gargoyle.

"Hershey's Kisses," he stated.

She gave him an odd look as the gargoyle moved out of the way, revealing a spiral, stone staircase.

"Lovely little Muggle chocolates," he told her lightly, before gesturing for her to proceed up the stairs. She did and was soon seated in a magnificent round office and a thickly cushioned chair. Her empty stomach rumbling its annoyance at this interruption of daily routine, but she didn't notice. Her eyes were on the piece of parchment Dumbledore now held in his hands. "Miss Carter, there is no easy way to say this, so I think it is best to just put it bluntly. This year has been a dark one and it's about to get even darker for you."

"I heard about Madame Marjorie's disappearance." Maggie, who had followed Jaclyn in, mewed and curled up in her new owner's lap. Jaclyn absent-mindedly stroked the cat.

"Miss Carter, I'm sorry but I have not brought you here to discuss Marjorie Crouch. I wish to discuss your parents. I'm sorry, Miss Carter, but they are dead."

All the color drained from her face.

"It will be in the Prophet tomorrow morning. Muggle killings always take an extra day, since they are not considered as important, which I personally think is codswallop."

"How?" Jaclyn finally managed to gasp.

"Death Eaters," he replied shortly, a grim set to his mouth. "Their routine was typical: enter, torture, kill, leave. This time, however, they left a message. It was written on the door."

"What…?"

" 'Toujors Pur, Carter.' "

She gasped, bursting into tears. "No… No!"

"Miss Carter, I understand you are currently in a relationship with Mister Sirius Black. I also understand that your relationship is to the depth that you are engaged to be married. It is my belief that the Death Eaters found out about this relationship and used it as motive to attack your family-"

"NO!" she screamed, the sound that of a torn being; her soul seemed as if it were ripping. "No! No no no!"

"Miss Carter," Dumbledore began, but she interrupted by grabbing his goblet of half-drunk pumpkin juice and flinging it against that wall. He had a beautiful antique mirror on one shelf, ornately fashioned with Runes carved around the rim. That went flying too.

"NO!"

Suddenly she collapsed, sobbing onto the carpet. Dumbledore kneeled down on the floor next to her, placing a hand on her back, a gesture that she found oddly touching, yet made her cry all the more.

"Toujors pur… Toujors pur…"

"Miss Carter…"

"They did it because of me… Me and Sirius… No…"

"Don't let them do this to you, Jaclyn. This is what they want."

"Pr-Professor Dumbledore… I'd like to go to my room now, please."

He nodded.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Sirius was climbing the stairs to his dormitory later that evening. Jaclyn had not been in any of their afternoon classes nor at dinner. Lily and Jamie had reported that she was lying in bed. Her parents had been reported dead, they told him. He wanted more than anything to comfort her, but knew he couldn't go into the room without revealing his Animagus form, something he still hadn't told her about. (Honestly, it just hadn't come up.) Upon stretching out on his bed, he noticed a rolled up scroll of parchment on his bedside table. He opened it and the diamond engagement ring he'd given Jaclyn fell out onto the floor. His heart fell into his stomach as he read,

_Sorry._

_I can't._

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: Not much to say. Don't you just _love_ cliffhangers? Hehe. I do. Well, I love them when I'm the one who wrote them. I hate reading them. Well, anyway, yeah, this chapter was fairly productive, in my opinion. Lol. REVIEW IT ALREADY!!!

-Carp


	26. Breakup Letter

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

Breakup Letter 

I couldn't have wished for a better happy ending.

I'm just sorry it had to end.

I think it's time for us both to stop pretending

That we can be more than just friends.

Honestly, I love you, more than I should feel,

But this pretty façade must fall.

Anyone who can let go of love not real

Has the greatest courage of all.

Sirius was not going to let her go without a fight. He rushed down the stairs transforming into his Animagus as he went. It was lucky for him, though in this state he did not take notice of it, that there were no people in the stairwell to see him change. He rushed up the stairs of the girls' dormitory and stopped dead at a door when he heard familiar voices coming from it.

"…don't understand, Jackie," he heard Jamie saying. "You love him so much. How can you just end it like that?"

"I didn't want to…" Jaclyn replied meekly.

"Jackie…" Lily began in her soothing way. "Jackie, tell us what happened. I hate seeing you like this."

"My parents are dead, Lily. They're dead and it's all because of…" She burst into tears, and Sirius felt a pang of longing to rush in their and comfort her.

"Shh… It's okay, Jack," came Jessika's voice. "It's okay."

"Don't blame yourself, Jaclyn," said Katie forcefully.

"You don't understand… My door…"

"What?"

"It was written on my door… 'Toujours pur, Carter'!"

Complete silence followed except for Jaclyn's crying. Sirius went cold as ice. He understood now.

"Oh God…" Lily finally breathed, breaking the silence. He heard movement and ducked away from the door, but no one came out. He inched back up to it.

"…can never tell him, though! He'll be devastated!"

"You think he's not devastated now?" Katie said almost angrily.

"Kitty…"

"You love him, Jaclyn! He loves you! And you let these Death Eaters ruin what could be, and would be, a beautiful relationship!" Katie was yelling now. "You are selfish, foolish, and–"

"You think I wanted this to happen!" Jaclyn screamed hysterically. "You think I wanted to end this! I love Sirius! I would die for him! It's not my fault!"

"Then why would you let this happen!"

"They'll kill my brother, Katie! They killed my parents, took Madame Marjorie, and they're going to come after Jonathon! I have to keep him safe! He's all I have left of my family!"

"You have me," came Jamie's voice, quietly. "You have me, my mum and dad, and Mikey. You have us, Jaclyn."

"It's not the same, Jamie. I love you guys, but it's not the same. Besides, they'll come after you too, and you know that. I have to protect everyone I love, and if that means giving up the man I love, then so be it."

No one said anything. They all just mulled over what she had said.

Finally, he heard Jaclyn say quietly, "Please leave." After a moment's hesitation, they did. Sirius back away into the shadows to let them pass before slipping into the room. He did not transform; instead, he hopped onto her bed where she was laying, tears still silently rolling down her cheeks. It tore him up inside to see her like this, and it was even worse to know that his own family had made it happen. She wrapped her arms around the big black creature automatically and dug her fingers deep into his thick fur. He licked her face once to clear away the salty tears before letting her fall asleep with him in her arms, all the while wishing this were under any other circumstances.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

When the Daily Prophet was delivered the next day, Jaclyn was relieved to see that the front door was not in the pictures. That was probably Dumbledore's influence. Sirius entered after her, looked at her once, painfully, then sat down farther away from her. Jonathon, who had been told the news after she had, entered looking very depressed. None of his usual friends were crowding around him – none except one, a cute half-blood girl named Peyton Smith. She had sandy brown hair and clear blue eyes. A Hufflepuff tie was around her neck, but she sat down at the Gryffindor table with her friend anyway. Jaclyn smiled slightly at this loyalty – a trait Hufflepuffs were known for. She was glad that her brother had formed real relationships here at Hogwarts, like she had. Speaking of those relationships…

"Hey, Jaclyn, Jamie here has something to show you!" Jessika was pulling Jamie along, Katie and Lily following her. She forced Jamie to sit beside Jaclyn. "Show her, Jamie!"

"Jessika, is this really necessary…?" Jamie began.

Jaclyn noticed that she was once again wearing a turtleneck, despite the warm weather, and became mildly interested.

"Yes! Show her!"

Jamie glanced around at the others, as if hoping for an escape. When she found none, she reluctantly sighed and rolled down the neck of her sweater, revealing a very many red suction bruises – hickeys. Jaclyn grinned wickedly.

"Who gave you those!" she demanded, slightly enjoying herself.

"I, er, um…" she stuttered, blushing furiously.

"Peter!" exclaimed Katie from behind her.

"That's right!" seconded Jessika, grinning happily. "Jamie's been snogging Peter!"

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

"_Anything else, _Remus_?" Jess said, annoyed._

"_Oh yes, Rodgers. I'm _madly_ in love with you." He blew her a kiss, rolled his eyes, and left._

"_You know what?" Jamie said. "I think he's the only one of those losers that _doesn't_ like one of us."_

"_Yeah, Jamie, you get Peter," Lily teased._

"_Ew! Bloody hell! That's worse than Snape!"_

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jaclyn laughed out loud at the memory. "So Snape turned you down, Jamie?"

"What?" She gave her cousin a wildly confused look.

Jaclyn just smirked. "Nothing."

The rest of the meal went smoothly. Jaclyn was rather quiet for the most part, but this helped. Jon and Peyton even slid over to join them in their laughter. Eventually the Marauders began contributing and by the end of the meal Jaclyn and Sirius were at the level of being able to look at each other for at least three seconds in a row – quite the accomplishment.

This is a breakup letter for your heart,

But I hope I don't break it,

Nor do I wish to tear it apart.

I just hope it can take it.

Honestly, it is not you, it's me,

And I really don't want to say why.

Please try and let go of me

Because it's time for goodbye.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: First of all, I wrote the poem. It would have all been right under the title, but I figured it was far too long, but at the same time I wanted the whole thing in there, so yeah. I did it that way. Second of all, er…I don't really know. Lol. Oh, yeah, I'm sorry things have been so depressing lately. I'm thinking that the next chapter will be the beginning of their seventh year. But I don't know. But anyway, if there are any chapters that ya'll didn't review, review them cause I want more reviews. Lol. And also read Whisper of a Thrill under my favorite stories. My cousin kamers and I write it. So go read and review it! Not before you review this, though, of course. Lol.

-Carp


	27. Once Defied Him

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:** _Once Defied Him_

"Oy! Oy, Evans! Wait up!"

I stopped, clenching my jaw and balling my fists tightly. I would recognize that voice any day. As I waited, I listened to his footsteps pound toward me through the unusually empty streets of Diagon Alley.

"Hiya, Evans!" he greeted cheerily as he pulled up beside me.

"Hello, Potter…" I drawled back in response, making sure my annoyance was clear.

"Where are you headed on this fine day?" he quipped, falling into step beside me as I began to walk again.

"Wherever you're not."

"Well, personally, I don't think that's possible."

"Oh?"

"See, if I'm going where you're going, and you're going where I'm not going, then you're not going where you're going, and that just doesn't make sense."

I stopped again, thinking that over in my head. "Fine, you can come." We walked some more before reaching a relatively new shop – Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. I had only been in there once since its opening, but I remembered that the ice cream had been astounding. I chose a booth near the window, since I needed to watch for my mum and dad.

"The streets are so eerie," I said quietly after a couple of silent minutes, peering out the window.

"Mmm…" James replied, frowning. He followed my gaze. "Everyone's too afraid to come here unless absolutely necessary."

"Why are you here?" I asked, turning back to him and meeting his eyes. "A pureblood teen wizard isn't going to look good wandering the streets alone."

"I knew you'd be here," he replied so simply that I merely blinked and stared at him. "Don't worry, I'm not spying on you – well, I am, but only in the sense that I keep tabs on you, simply to keep you protected." I blinked again and opened my mouth to yell at him. "Don't!" I shut it. "Sirius keeps tabs on Jaclyn, too. And we both keep tabs on Remus and, for him, Katie. We care too much to let anything happen to the ones we love."

"Excuse me?" I gasped, feeling myself turn as red as my hair.

"We love you girls," he replied unblushingly. "Just recently we've begun setting up a system on Jamie, too. We refuse to let anything happen to you. Why else do you think we did so well on our Apparition last year? We have the determination. We have to be able to get anywhere at any time."

"I can defend myself, Potter."

"Against a group of fully-trained Death Eaters? Lily, Jaclyn nearly died! Sirius is bloody powerful and your best mate still nearly died! I'm not going to let that happen to you!"

The few other patrons fell silent and stared. I looked down, playing with my ice cream.

Finally, quietly, I asked him, "Why are you telling me this, Potter? I'm not going to go out–"

"You still think that's what I'm after? Merlin, Evans! For the cleverest witch in our year, you sure are daft!" In his frustration, he jumped up and left the shop.

After a second, I dropped three Galleons on the table, not caring that I was overpaying some, and ran out after him. I didn't see him outside, but remembered he'd turned right and went that way.

"Potter! Potter! Potter?" I stopped, looking around. I was standing outside the Apothecary. I could see movement through the cracked doorway of the dark shop. "Potter?" No answer. "J-James?" I pushed the door open a bit and poked my head in. "Are you in here, James?" I stepped in and closed the door.

In an instant there was a bright flash of yellow light and I was thrown against the wall. Except for having bumped my head, though, I was unharmed. However, there was a curious tingling sensation in my toes.

"James…?" I called meekly.

"Potter isn't going to save you, Mudblood," sneered a cold, high voice.

"Sn-?"

"_Crucio_!"

The pain was amazing, searing through every part of my body…except for the end half of my feet. That was almost curious enough to distract me from the pain, but not quite. I screamed and screamed, but no one came. Finally, he let up.

"What'd you do to me?" I gasped. "Why can't I feel my feet?"

"Like it?" he sneered. I could almost feel his grin through the pitch blackness. "It's a version of the Numbing Spell."

"But the Numbing Spell–"

"–Is unstable, I know. And that's why Healers use the potion. But _I_ perfected it…for my own uses, at least. No Healer would ever use _my_ spell on a patient."

"But–" I could no longer feel half of my lower legs.

"SILENCED, MUDBLOOD!" he screamed, his voice high and hysterically frightening. She shrank back. "You will _never_ speak to me! You're not worthy of licking my boots! I am the one who invented this spell, who invented _all_ the good spells of this century! Not even the dark Lord knows this spell. Only I, _I_! It will creep up your legs, into you stomach, arms, and chest, shutting down every organ, every tissue, every _cell_! It won't stop. It will shut off your heart and you will die. It will be painless, unfortunately, for you will be numb and unable to feel it anywhere. I couldn't quite make it painful. Lucky you."

"Why are you doing this?" I exclaimed. "You're not evil, Snape!"

"I'm not evil, I'm right! Mudbloods, half-breeds, traitors must die!"

"What about half-_bloods_, huh, Snape?" I challenged quietly. "You aren't evil, you're my friend! You're Severus!"

"I am a Prince! My father is an abusive, drunken bastard! I will not be associated with him ever again!"

"Severus!"

"Silence! _Crucio_!"

From the waist up I was racked with a horrifying pain. My screams echoed as the darkness pressed around me. This was Hell…

And then a burst of light illuminated the room. "_Expelliarmus_!" The pain stopped instantly. When my eyes adjusted, I realized the light had been James flinging the door open, and then he had proceeded to disarm Snape, who was standing there in his new death Eater mask and robes. I had begun to sob.

"You are a filthy Mudblood, Evans," hissed the Death Eater. "You will die." In one fluid movement, he grabbed his fallen wand, Banished a pile of boxes beside him, and Apparated away.

By this time, I couldn't feel my legs or abdomen.

"James…" I gasped. "James, it's a Numbness Spell."

"What?" He looked absolutely bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Sn- that Death eater put a spell on me that's going to creep up my legs numbing everything until my heart stops."

"What? That fucking bastard-!"

"James! Language!" Inwardly, I gave myself a mocking laugh. I was minutes away from death and I _still_ cared about that? "Sorry, sorry. Listen, you need to stop him, James, before he gets away."

"But, he Apparated!"

"No, you can't Apparate out of Diagon Alley anymore. Not after last summer." I reached for my fallen wand.

"What about you? I'm not leaving without you, Lily."

I pointed my wand at myself. "_Finite incantatem_." Instantly the Numbness froze, no longer creeping up my body. "I'll be fine. Stop the Death Eater."

"I am _not_ leaving you here, Lily." Without waiting for an answer, he scooped me up into his arms. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, burying my face into his soft, warm, sweet-smelling neck. "Hold on," he muttered pointlessly, before Apparating away.



Jaclyn,

I'm not going to pretend I don't love you. I'm not going to lie and say I'm not hurt or that I'm going to get over you. And you know what else? I'm not going to keep acting like I don't know why you ended it. It was my family that had your parents killed. No one told me. I heard you telling the girls what was written on the door.

I am an Animagus. I never told you before. It just never came up. Right off the bat, I'd like to apologize for keeping that secret from you. But I'm unregistered. I can't tell anyone. My Animagus form is a big, black dog. I came to you that night and heard everything.

It _does_ kill me to know what my family did to you, but I can get over that. I've been dealing with their wretched ways for seventeen years. You can't let them win, though. They wanted us apart and you're letting them have that. They wanted us miserable, and you're letting them have _that_! I have learned something: You don't choose your birth and you can't choose your death. Stop trying to control everything.

If we never make love again, never kiss, never _touch_, I will be okay just knowing you are mine – knowing that I hold your heart. I need to know that.

Sirius Black



James and Lily reappeared in front of the barrier between Diagon Alley and The Leaky Cauldron. There they saw a sight they would never forget. There were over twenty Death Eaters in one large group, shooting blasts from their wands and setting people and buildings on fire. Snape, Lily noticed, was not among them. She peered around, finally catching sight of him slinking away, boxes in hand.

"James, there!" she whispered, pointing. Just as he turned, a flash was seen and Lord Voldemort, in the flesh, appeared before them. Lily was fixated on the man's face. It was wrinkled, yet taut; snow white, yet Dark; handsome, yet horrifyingly ugly. His eyes were snake-like slits, bright red, and when he peered around and caught her own normal green eyes, she felt her body go cold and she whimpered in terror.

That was the moment, for Lily Evans at least, that Lord Voldemort became He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"Stop," came You-Know-Who's voice, ringing bright and clear above the screaming. Snape froze, but no one else seemed to hear. "Come." Snape, trembling, made his way over to his master, the other Death Eaters moving away as a group slowly, continuing to torture the few innocent patrons that had braved the streets this day.

"Lily? Lily!" Mr. Evans emerged from the shadows of a building's back alleyway. In his arms was a limp Mrs. Evans. His cheeks were dirty and tear-streaked.

"Mom!" Lily screamed. She began writhing and clawing for James to let her go. "Mom! What happened! Mom!"

"Lily!" James exclaimed, surprised. He held her tightly until she settled down.

"She's gone…" Lily gasped into his shoulder. After a moment, she lifted her head and looked at her father. "Get through the barrier, Dad. Get out of here now."

"Lily, I'm not going to leave you here alone."

"I'm not alone, Dad. I have James."

"Lily–!"

"Dad! Go! I'm not going to lose you, too. You're a Muggle. What's going to stop them from taking you, too?"

He looked ready to argue some more, but instead he peered into his wife's still face and nodded. "This is your world, Lily," he said quietly, before diffusing through the barrier.

James noticed now that silent tears were running down Lily's cheeks, but her expression was angry. "Lily…"

"We have to stop him, James. We have to end this now."

They both looked over where Snape was emptying his boxes into a cauldron of gold. Voldemort looked on almost boredly as his Death eater carried out his task. Lily and James ducked behind a charred black half-wall that was once a building. They inched their way over and arrived just as Snape was lighting a fire. He dipped a long golden stirring stick into the brew and began to rotate it slowly.

"James, Transfigure the cauldron."

"What?"

"Whatever they're brewing needs to be pure. It can't touch anything other than pure gold or it will be ruined." She pointed. The open boxes the ingredients had been in were lined with plates of gold.

"Oh." Gripping Lily tighter with one arm, he freed the other to point his wand out. "_Petrifiole_," he whispered. A flash of light and one microsecond later, the golden cauldron was now thick, gray stone. In the next second, the potion began to hiss and the cauldron dissolved away, leaving the thick, forest green brew to ooze over the street. It dissipated away leaving only a scorch mark stretched across the road.

"NO!" screamed Lord Voldemort, fire in his eyes.

Lily whimpered at the nearly tangible fury emanating from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. James readjusted her before shooting out from their hiding place. Voldemort's Death Eaters were swarming around him again, inquiring as to what had happened. By the time they'd figured it out, the pair was nearly at the barrier. Curses and hexes flew at them, narrowly missing. They blew through the barrier just as James' robe caught fire. He stopped only long enough to extinguish it before squeezing Lily hard and Apparating away.



Lily slept for a week straight as an attempt to cure the Numbness. It worked, but when she woke up she was very physically weak. They gave her a day to herself – during which she learned that her mother's funeral had taken place while she was asleep – before the interrogations began. Instead of a bucketload of Aurors, her primary interviewer was Albus Dumbledore.

"Pr-Professor?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Yes, Miss Evans. Now, may I proceed?" He appeared very tired. She nodded, still a little shocked that it was him. "Miss Evans, we have only one question for you." She nodded again. "Do you know who your attacker in the Apothecary was?"

Lily blinked. After a minute she slowly shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

"Are you sure, Miss Evans?"

She nodded, staring at her tightly folded hands resting in her lap and refusing to meet his eyes.

After a second he spoke again, in a much softer voice. "Miss Evans, I know you're lying to me. I don't know why, though. I only hope your choice will not have any serious repercussions." He seemed to wait for her to change her mind, but when she didn't he stood up and left.

Lily broke down then, sobbing herself to sleep.



Author's Note: Sorry it took so long! I've been uber busy with my junior year, lately! But I've got the next chapter finished or half-finished, depending on if I combine the other piece I have part done with it. I hope to update soon!

-Carp


	28. In Which More Letters Are Written

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:**

_In Which More Letters Are Written_

You're leaving me here, dear

Alone with all your letters

You're letting it go, no

Like innocence and feathers

Jaclyn,

I wish you would write me. I worry about you. We all do. Please talk to me. It's not good to stay shut up in a house for two months. You need to get out.

Give me a ring if you'd rather do that than write.

Katie

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Lily,

My mom helped me make these. They're double choc---

Lily,

How are you?---

Lily,

I hope you like---

Evans,

Here's some cookies.

Potter

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Dearest Lilith,

I will be in the country for a week before you are to return to Hogwarts. I am hoping to be able to visit you in the time.

Much love,

Jacques

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Katie,

Jacques is coming to visit Lily. As cute as he is, it can only mean trouble. Don't tell James.

By the way, have you heard from Jaclyn lately?

Jess

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Potter,

Thanks.

Evans

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Katie,

We've got problems. You know how Jaclyn's always had a little extra cushioning – not fat, but cute? Well, it's gone – all of it. She's hardly eaten in weeks. We've practically had to force food on her. We need to do an intervention. Get everyone over here soon, okay?

Jamie

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Katie,

Have you heard from Jaclyn? She won't answer any of my letters.

I'm worried about her.

Padfoot

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Katie,

I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Worry about Lily.

Jaclyn

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jacques,

I have to go out of town that week. I'm going to visit my friend Jaclyn. She is going through a hard time right now and she needs us. Sorry.

Your Friend,

Lily

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jess,

Nope, no news from Jaclyn. Jamie said she hasn't been eating, though. Lily and I are heading over there the night before we leave for school. If you can make it that'd be helpful.

Lily told Jacques she'd be out of town that week, so hopefully he won't come.

Katie

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Jamie,

I wish I had the courage to do this is person, but you know how I am. I sometimes wonder if I really am supposed to be in Gryffindor. Anyway, these past few months have been great – amazing, in fact. It's been the best time of my life, and I will never forget it.

But something has been bothering me lately. Something has kept me up at night – something that I've needed to say for a while.

I love you.

Pete

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Katie,

I can't get there on my own. Can I Floo to your house the night before?

Jess

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Sirius,

She isn't talking to us much either. Jamie says she hasn't been eating. We're heading over there the night before we leave for school. Don't come. It's going to be a girls' night to cheer Jaclyn and Lily up, so stay out, you hear me?

Katie

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Padfoot,

I think that I---

Moony,

You're the most feminine of the group and the best at giving advice. I need help right now.

I think that I love Lily.

Prongs.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Lily,

I'm sorry my last letter was horrid. I just really didn't know what to say. I wanted to make sure you're okay. So, yeah. My mum made those cookies. She put in some extra chocolate. It's Honeydukes and she cut it up for you. I really hope you liked them, but I helped so they're probably no good.

I hope you're alright. Only three more days til school. Can't wait to see you.

James.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Dearest Lilith,

My heart is sore from this news. I think of you hourly. I would hope you are thinking of me. That would please me greatly.

Undying Love,

Jacques

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Prongs,

Well, that's no surprise. We already knew that.

You need my advice?

Moony

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

Author's Note: End of very short chapter. I debated adding in the next part, but I think I'm gonna make it longer, so you won't mind. Lol. Love, ya'll! Please review!

-Carp


	29. Intervention

**Author's Note: **I went through every chapter and changed Tiffany/Tiffy to Katie/Kit. The original name of the character was Katie, but we got into a huge argument (the real Katie and I) and I removed her. Now _Tiffany_ isn't talking to me and Katie and I are back on great terms. I'm making it Katie again, and no matter what, I'm not changing it.

BTW, loves, the "word---" bit from the last chapter was where they cut off and stopped writing the letter, throwing them out. I know I got at least one question about that.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:** _Intervention_

"Shh, you'll wake her up!" SMACK!

"Yelling at me won't, though?"

CRACKLE CRACKLE!

Jaclyn groaned, rolling over. She opened her eyes to four familiar faces looking down at her from the foot of her bed. In Jessika's hands was a bag of Muggle potato chips. Jamie was holding a fizzy sort of drink from Honeydukes. Lily was holding a fluffy, white kitten – Maggie. Katie had in her hands a stack of letters.

"Bloody hell…" Jaclyn groaned, throwing her head back down on the bed and hiding under her pillow. Someone stole the pillow away and then took the covers when she tried to use those to hide. Left with no refuge, she sat straight up and glared.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded angrily.

"We've come to cheer you up," Lily answered. Her voice, Jaclyn noticed, was sadder, more solemn. A pang of guilt entered Jaclyn's heart. Taking a closer look at her friend, Jaclyn saw that Lily looked paler and thinner, much like she knew she herself had to look. There were dark circles under sunken green eyes, reflecting Jaclyn's own hazel ones. Looking at Lily, she saw herself from an outsider's view. She saw what she'd seen on Katie a year prior. She saw, and it hurt.

"Oh, Lils!" she cried, suddenly flinging herself on her friend. Lily caught her and there they both sobbed together – both skeleton warriors in this battle called Life. The kitten, caught between the two, squeezed out of the embrace and meowed disdainfully.

"Shh, Maggie," Jamie hushed, setting the bottle aside and picking up the kitten.

After a couple hours of laughing and sobbing – and laughing at the sobbing – Katie placed the stack of letters in front of Jaclyn where she was seated, eating the potato chips ravenously. Jaclyn stopped mid-chew, recognizing them instantly as the ignored letters from Sirius. She had neither been able to read them nor throw them away, so she'd stashed them in a drawer in her desk.

"Swallow, Carter," Katie instructed. Jaclyn obeyed. "Now, those letters aren't in order, but… _Accio First Letter_." A letter flew into Katie's lap. She unfolded it and began reading. " 'I'm not going to pretend I don't love you. I'm not going to lie and say I'm not hurt or that I'm going to get over you. And you know what else? I'm not going to keep acting like I don't know why you ended it. It was my family that had your parents killed.' "

"Stop," Jaclyn said weakly, visibly trembling. Jamie scooped her into arms and held her.

"_Accio Second Letter_. 'I love you, Jaclyn. Please answer my letter.' "

The third, fourth, and fifth letters went a similar way, progressively getting more desperate and more pained. Finally they reached the ninth and last letter. Katie opened it slowly and began to read. By now Jaclyn was sobbing quietly into Jamie's pajama-clad chest. " 'Jaclyn, I'm giving up. You've made it clear that you no longer want anything to do with me. Good-bye.' That's all it says…" She folded it and put it in the pile of opened letters they'd set aside on the nightstand.

"Why'd you have to do that!" Jaclyn suddenly burst out! "Don't you think I'm miserable enough? Did you think I needed _more_ pain? I love him, but I can't _ever_ put my brother or Jamie's family at risk again! Never!"

"Jaclyn-!"

"No! No, don't even start, Jessika! I–"

"Shut up!" It was not one of the girls that yelled this, startling them all into silence. "Shut up, all of you!" They looked at the door. It was Jon. He had silent tears running down his face.

"Jon!" Jaclyn stood up to embrace him.

"No!" He pushed her away and she stumbled a little, surprised. "No, don't hug me! I'm not your baby brother anymore!"

"Jon…" She felt as if she'd been shot.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of, Jaclyn! I'm growing up. I have crushes on girls and get boners for no reason."

"Jonathon!"

He ignored his own embarrassment. "I've gotten into duels and ended up in the hospital wing in my own right. I've learned to fly. I've lost both my parents and my home in one night. I'm not a baby anymore! Nor are Jamie, or Uncle Mike, or Aunt Liz and Mikey. I can take care of myself. You think I'm weak, but I'm not! I'm a Gryffindor!"

"I never thought you were–"

"Yes you did! You gave up the man you love to protect me. I don't want that! I want you to be happy. In this war, after all we've been through, we deserve to be happy! I'm not going to be happy unless you're happy, and _you're_ not going to be happy unless you're with Sirius. So, blast it! Be with him already! You _love_ him…"

"Jonny!" she cried, flinging her arms around him and sobbing into his shoulder. He was finally taller than her.

This time he didn't push her away. He held her tight and let his own tears roll down his cheeks and into her hair. "I'm sorry. I was just so tired of you being such and idiot!"

She made a noise somewhere between a sniffle and a laugh. Looking up, she kissed her brother's cheek and gave him a light push. "Well, I think it's far past your bedtime, baby brother."

He laughed and wiped away his tears. "Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, Jon!" she called as he left. He turned to look at her. "Don't _ever_ tell me about your boners again!"

He threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Agreed!" Then he went to bed.

Jaclyn turned back to her friends now. Can, uh, can I have some choc–?"

Katie held up a large bar. Both friends grinned. "Way ahead of you, Carter."

Jaclyn gratefully immersed herself in chocolate, friends, and cheer, feeling, for the first time in months, okay.

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

At exactly two in the morning Jamie's grandfather clock began to chime and Jaclyn, who had been lying awake since the other girls had fallen asleep at one, climbed out of the bed. She found her trainers and a cloak and slipped out the bedroom door. This sudden influx of friends and cheer had left her feeling oddly energized and unusually claustrophobic.

Her destination: the local park. Her mode of transportation: a bicycle. Her broom was in the basement and it would cause too much noise to get it; she didn't want to wake anyone up. She slipped out the front door, taking extreme measures to ensure none of her dogs heard it open. If they did, they would go mad and wake up the whole house. The air outside was warm, but still comfortably cool enough.

The bicycle in question was blue, with gold accents. It belonged to her not-so-little-anymore younger brother who'd gotten it after his very recent growth spurt. She swung onto it, quickly made sure her wand was still in place, and took off. There were very few cars at this hour, so she swerved out to ride in the middle of the street – literally. Following the yellow lines, keeping both wheels straight on it, was very therapeutic and she soon lost herself in her own world. After a half hour of this dazed, crazed pedaling a loud rumbling noise was heard coming up at a fast pace behind her. It startled her out of her reverie and she swerved sharply as her head swung around to see what it was, sending her flying off the bicycle and into a large bush. She whipped out her wand, struggling to disentangle herself from the bush, but she was quite stuck.

"I'm armed!" she cried out in desperation, waving her wand frantically. The rumbling pulled up beside her and stopped.

"Congratulations. You have a stick."

"Black!" she sputtered. _Lumos._ Her wand illuminated his grinning face – and behind him a motorbike.

"In the flesh, love." He crossed his arms, watching her struggle in the branches again.

"Not 'love' if your lazy arse doesn't help me out of this bloody bush!" she growled angrily.

He chuckled, then took hold of both her arms and pulled hard – maybe a little too hard because she was flung onto him so hard that he fell back and she landed on him.

"Is it 'love' again?" he teased, grinning up at her.

Her grin came and went so fast that it was debatable whether or not it was ever there. A second later, she burst into tears. She didn't used to always cry. Lately, however, this war had turned her into a human hosepipe.

His own grin instantly disappeared at this, becoming replaced with a look of great concern. "Jaclyn? Jaclyn, what is it?"

"Y-You–" she sobbed. "L-Love!" Did he not understand the implications of what he had just said? Was he honestly that _thick_? "Y-You idiot! It-It-It always w-w-was!"

He was confused a second longer, but then it dawned on him. "Oh, love!" He sat up and pulled her tight to him. "I'm sorry…"

"No! N-No… I am…" She sniffed, the flow of tears taking a break. "I hurt you so bad…"

"Did you even read my letters?" he questioned quietly, stroking her soft curls.

"No. Yes. I mean, not til tonight."

"She made you, didn't she?"

Jaclyn nodded, snuggling closer to him. They both knew who "she" was.

"Yeah, Katie will do that…"

Jaclyn sniffed again and nodded. "Yeah, but that's what I love about her."

"I love her, too. You know who I love more, though?" He slipped his large hands under her shirt, resting on her back. His thumbs traced little circles on her skin.

"Who?" Jaclyn asked weakly, blinking her wet lashes as she looked up at him.

"Moony," he told her seriously, wiping her cheeks dry with a corner of his cloak.

She giggled a little. "Kit's in for quite a shock."

"I know," he replied somberly. "I hate to do it to her, but the puppy love is just too overwhelming."

She giggled again. "Puppy love?"

He just grinned devilishly, nuzzling into her neck, nipping and trailing his tongue along the soft skin. She gasped with pleasure, wrapping her arms around his neck and opening her legs to straddle him.

"Good puppy…"

He growled softly, bringing his hands around front to open her front-clasping bra while laying her down on the grass.

"Sirius, I love you."

"I know."

**x**_o_**x**_o_**x**

**Author's Note:** Now, that didn't take _too_ long, did it? –cowers– Okay, yeah, but at least it's up! Still have no idea how I'm going to get to the end of this story, but it'll happen eventually, right? Stay faithful, keep up those reviews, and it'll be done in no time!

-Carp


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